Just Once
by TonysSilverFox
Summary: Just once, Tony would like to be put first. SLASH story! Tony/Gibbs pairing. Look away if this offends you, there are many other stories to choose from.
1. Chapter 1

**Just Once **By **TonysSilverFox**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**Just a few notes: In this reality, the Jeanne storyline never happens and I'm thinking Jenny will be the Director from now on (no illness). I'm not a big fan of Vance's tenure. I'm also going to tweak Sheppard's character a bit. I've also tweaked Abby and Ducky a little to give Tony more support then he got on the show. Also, expect a new Gibbs when he returns too. He won't be the sarcastic bastard the show brought back. There will also be no Agent Lee on Tony's team, she is not wanted, nor needed. Timmy's a perfectly good tattletale. ;-) I have also purely made-up the educational specifics below (work of fiction!). **

**WARNING: I am not a fan of McGee or Ziva, so if they are favorites of yours, skip this story. There are plenty of pro Tim/Ziva stories to choose from. I will be bashing them both and may or may not redeem them. Also, this will be a SLASH story. I am a big Tibbs fan and the boys will be having some fun! I don't want to hear any whining from TIVA or McGee fans, you have been warned. Expect an "I told you so" if you insist on pointing out the flaws in my McGee/Ziva bashing or lack of a Tiva storyline. If you're going to be stupid, I'm going to point it out! This story takes place during the summer of Gibbs' Mexican siesta.**

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Just once.

Tony wondered what it would feel like to be put first, just once.

His parents had certainly never put him ahead of _anything_ they wanted.

None of the partners he had ever had at any police force chose him over any self-serving plot they were involved in. On the contrary, several of them had threatened to drag him down with them or pin the rose on him.

Wendy decided he was not worth it. Kyle had decided he was not worth it. Tim & Ziva thought he was a joke, and now the man he admired most, _loved_ the most, had also left him.

Boss. Gibbs. _Jethro_….

He had thought everything was clipping along. He and Jethro had admitted their mutual attraction to each other shortly after Tony had been kidnapped and thrown into a sewer with a missing Gunny. Tony had managed to not only get himself and the Gunny free, but had apprehended their tormentor. Gibbs had been so relieved that he was okay that he had taken him home to his own house and had shown Tony just how happy he was that Tony was alive. Tony shivered as he recalled that first kiss…

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

_Flashback:_

_Tony walked downstairs rubbing his hair with a towel after a long, hot shower to get rid of the stink of that sewer. He was wearing a pair of sweat bottoms that rode low on his hips and nothing else. He called out to his boss as he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs._

"_Hey Boss, could you take a sniff? I'm not sure the smell is completely gone."_

_He stopped short when he found Gibbs standing about a foot right in front of him looking like a panther eyeing its prey._

"_Uh, Boss?"_

"_How are you feeling DiNozzo?" This was said as Gibbs slowly advanced towards Tony._

"_Ummm, fine?" "Ooof!" Tony huffed out as his back hit the wall._

_Gibbs advanced until he was about 2 inches from Tony's face. Tony could feel the heat radiating off the man. Probably the sexiest man he had ever fallen for (Kyle didn't hold a candle to Gibbs!) even if Gibbs would never return those feelings, would he? He was no longer sure about that conviction given the look on the older man's face right now._

"_No lasting effects from being drugged?" Gibbs asked, now standing _very_ close._

"_N-no Boss" Tony squeaked out as Gibbs advanced even closer._

"_Good." Gibbs smirked in reply._

_Gibbs lifted his right hand and took hold of Tony's chin and tilted his head to the right. He angled his own head to the left and leaned in to inhale deeply at the juncture of Tony's neck and shoulder. Tony felt his whole body shudder as Gibbs' own scent filled his nostrils. _

"_Mmmm, no, you just smell like Tony." Gibbs said huskily against his neck._

_Tony had to swallow twice before he could reply._

"_Th-Thanks B-Boss." "Um, G-Gibbs?" Tony stuttered out as Gibbs moved even closer to press himself completely against Tony's body,_

"_Mmmm-yes, Tony?" Gibbs murmured as he brushed his lips against Tony's throat._

"_Oh, GOD! That feels incredible; please tell me I'm not dreaming?" Tony nearly sobbed out._

"_Not dreaming, DiNozzo. Been thinkin' about this since you tackled me in that alley in Baltimore." Gibbs replied as he moved up Tony's neck to suckle on his earlobe._

"_The only question Tony, is this what you really want?" Gibbs asked as he placed soft butterfly kisses along Tony's jaw line._

_Tony moaned as he reveled in the sensations racing through his body. Gibbs had moved his right hand up to card through his hair while his left hand caressed his waist. Tony's senses were assaulted on several fronts. Gibbs had his body pressed completely against his own and appeared to be as aroused as he was. He could feel Gibbs' hard length pressed up against his own rock hardness through their clothes. Gibbs' hands caressing him and played with his hair and that wonderful mouth of his! Those sweet, sexy kisses were driving him mad and he suddenly found himself unfrozen and ready to play. He quickly brought his arms up to encircle the older man at the same time he spun them around so Gibbs was pressed up against the wall._

"_Oh, Hell YES!" He replied before leaning in to capture Gibbs' mouth in their first kiss. _

_Tony was amazed at how soft Gibbs' lips were and moaned as Gibbs opened up for him. His own tongue mapped the inside of Gibbs mouth and he was rewarded with a moan from Gibbs as he sucked Gibbs' tongue sensuously. Gibbs then returned the favor with his own tongue as he slid his hands down to cup Tony's ass. _

_When they finally broke apart due to lack of oxygen, both men were panting and obviously deeply aroused. Gibbs placed a hand on Tony's chest as he started to dive in for another kiss, to stop him._

"_If we do this, we go all the way Tony. I don't do casual. You belong to me and no other. Can you handle that?" Gibbs asked as he pinned Tony with a patented Gibbs stare._

_Tony returned his gaze and replied, "Oh yeah. I'm not as 'casual' as I may have led everyone to believe, and I've belonged to you for quite some time now." _

"_Good. Call me Jethro at home." Gibbs growled before spinning Tony back against the wall for another bruising kiss._

"_Yes, Jethro." Tony sighed happily as Gibbs again started nibbling on his neck._

_End Flashback._

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

That first night had been the start of what Tony thought was a lifetime together. They had gotten serious very quickly. Tony had all but moved in after only 2 months of going back and forth between Gibbs' house and his apartment. He still had the apartment, but that was only for appearances sake.

They had been very careful, but Ducky seemed to have a sixth sense about these things and had guessed almost immediately. Abby was the next to sniff them out (literally) after a quick, make-out session in the elevator. Gibbs had taken Abby her Caff-POW! and she had smelled Tony's cologne on him when he stood too close. She had been thrilled and both of them had kept their secret.

All that hadn't mattered three and a half months ago when a terrorist Jethro was chasing set off a bomb on a ship while he was trying to take Gibbs out. Tony remembered seeing the blast while he waited in the car with McGee & Ziva and he felt his heart clench because he knew Jethro was at the center of that explosion.

The reality was worse.

Tony was almost positive Gibbs was dead when the crewmen on board had pulled him from the fire. His heart soared when he was told he was still alive and had a strong heartbeat. He ached to go with Jethro to the hospital, but he knew he needed to take control and supervise the investigation until Jethro could take over again.

He did not expect the news that awaited him at the hospital when he was finally able to break away. Jethro was in a coma and he didn't appear to want to wake up. He remembered being more than a little pissed that the Director was in Jethro's room, preventing him from running his fingers through his lover's hair, holding his hand or whispering pleas into his ear to get him to wake up. He vaguely recalled joking with her about putting coffee in Jethro's IV to get him up. The main thing he remembered was how frail and vulnerable Jethro looked in his hospital bed. He just wanted everybody to go away so he could gather Jethro in his arms and keep him safe.

That was not meant to be.

Tony soon found out it that it may never be, ever again.

The news that Jethro had lost his memories and thought it was 15 years ago (long before he had ever met Tony) was bad enough. The worst was yet to come. He could have lived with Jethro calling him McGee (okay, that still stung) but resigning and handing him the team with a "You'll do." drove a spike into his heart.

The whole team had been stunned, but Tony had sucked it up and gotten the reports done and everyone sent home to process the day's events. He had expected to have a talk with Jethro when he got home, but that also was not to be.

By the time he had arrived home the house was dark and locked up. Tony let himself in with overwhelming hopelessness crashing over him. He knew Jethro was gone and he only had a vague notion where he might be. He also knew that if Gibbs didn't want to be found, no one would find him. He walked through their house seeing evidence of their life together tossed around or simply tossed out.

It seemed Gibbs had done some redecorating before he took off.

His movies were strewn around the floor by the couch and the front window. They had been neatly cataloged in the bookcase Gibbs had made for him when he had left that morning. Most of the food Gibbs stocked for Tony (cereals, power bars, sodas) were dumped in the trash. He found the cappuccino maker Jethro had bought for him last Christmas in pieces on the kitchen floor, smashed beyond repair.

The final dagger to his heart came when he reached their bedroom. Jethro had cleared all of his suits and clothes from the closet and drawers and had dumped them in a pile in the middle of the floor. He found all his toiletries in the garbage can next to the sink in the master bath. Tony wandered back into the bedroom and sank down on the floor next to the bed and let his tears come. They lasted for about two hours and he found himself curled up in a ball next to the bed when he came back to himself.

He had been left again.

It didn't matter that this was Jethro's house. He had again been ordered out of someone's life.

Since it had been a Friday and they were not on call, per the Director's orders, Tony spent the next two days moving every bit of himself out of Gibbs' house and back to his apartment. When he took a final look around that Sunday night, Jethro's house looked as it had the first time Tony had stepped foot into it all those years ago, cold and empty. Just like he felt. He had already arranged to have Jethro's bills paid automatically. He closed the door for the last time and drove back to his apartment.

The next few weeks, and then months, had been Hell.

Ziva and Tim questioned every order he gave or just outright ignored him. Ducky was angry because Gibbs had left so abruptly and also because he had never known about Shannon and Kelly. That was a secret Jethro had shared with him not long after they had gotten together, but he had kept his secret. It was not his to share. Abby was heartbroken that Gibbs had disappeared without a word to her, but quickly consoled him when she found out he had been left out of Gibbs' plans too.

Thank God for the Autopsy Gremlin! Palmer had been invaluable helping him talk over cases while Tim, Ziva and Ducky were in a snit over Gibbs leaving. Plus he was a steady, non-judgmental, sounding board over his loss of Jethro. Palmer had been a little shocked at first, but quickly turned into the most reliable friend he had. Abby was still hurting over Gibbs and he didn't want to add to it. Even though he tried to reassure Tony that he was not jinxed when it came to love, the words never seemed to sink in.

His depression and self-loathing were only compounded by the treatment he received from his 'team'. The last straw came when they both gathered their things in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of a case, and said they were leaving. They had things to do. Tony had been furious, throwing his files down onto his desk to go after them, but he only caught their smug faces smirking at him as the elevator doors closed. He stood looking at the closed doors with his fists clenched as he felt the fight in him slip away.

What was the point?

They would never respect him as a team leader. Neither of them had looked beyond his 'frat boy' veneer. They would be shocked to know that he had two Master's degrees (Criminology & Forensic Psychology) and was working on a third (Computer Forensics) to go along with his _lowly_ Phys Ed degree. It was partially his fault that his playboy mask persisted, but if they had been better investigators, they would have seen right through it, Kate had. Gibbs, Abby, Ducky and Palmer had. He once thought Tim had, but he must have been wrong. He didn't expect Ziva to. She was blinded by her own superiority and arrogance.

He didn't know how long he stood before the closed elevator doors, but he was brought back to himself when he heard Director Shepherd's voice asking him to join her in her office. He made his way upstairs with her, not noticing the sympathetic looks he received from other teams and agents on the floor. They had all heard McGee and David's insubordination over the last months and had no respect for them. They had all worked with Tony and they knew what a good agent and team leader he was.

They also knew that the close rate for the MCRT had not dropped since Gibbs had left. This was not due to anything McGee or David had done. The only reason was Tony. He stayed until midnight or later doing all the reports they refused to do in addition to all the reports needed for a team lead. Many times when back-up was absolutely necessary, Balboa, Franklin or any number of agents on the floor had accompanied Tony to make an arrest or question a dangerous suspect when his own 'team' could not be found. Balboa had reported their insubordination to the Director, along with several other agents and team leads, and unbeknownst to Tim and Ziva, she had witnessed their latest infraction from the balcony outside her office.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

When they reached her office, Jenny advised Tony to sit. He slumped into the chair across from her desk with a defeated air.

"I guess this is where you tell me what I've been doing wrong and let me know who will be taking over the team." Tony remarked in a small voice as he studied his hands.

"On the contrary, this is where I tell you what an exemplary job you have been doing and let you know you will not be doing it on your own anymore." The director replied.

Tony's head snapped up to see the director smiling at him. He wasn't sure what was going on yet, so he decided to keep quiet until he knew.

"I've gotten several reports of insubordination by your two team members towards you and I just happened to see the most recent show from the balcony." The director stated.

Tony's face reddened but he still said nothing.

"I also know why you have put up with it." She said quietly.

"I've read your file Tony and I know what kind of person and what kind of Agent you are. I know your experience and education would run rings around those two, but you've chosen to keep that to yourself. I think that is going to have to stop, right now."

Tony again bowed his head. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Tony, look at me."

"Ma'am?"

"I know you were pushing them both to be better investigators, but the teaching seminar is officially closed. If they have not made any effort to ferret out the truth about you, they never will. Some people must learn through correction, and that's where I come in."

"Director, they're still having a hard time with Gibbs leaving and…"

He stopped speaking when the director held up her hand to interrupt him.

"Tony, I know you've not reported them and given them slack because of the shock of Agent Gibbs' sudden departure. However, they are grown adults that should be able to work through their emotional issues without acting like two-year-olds throwing a tantrum."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Besides, if anyone had a reason to act out after Jethro's departure, it would have been you." she added quietly.

Tony's head snapped up and he tried to gauge her meaning. She was sitting back in her chair with a soft smile on her face.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Please, Agent DiNozzo, I'm well aware of your personal relationship with Jethro."

Tony blanched, thinking to himself "_This is it, here it comes, the end of my career."_

"I also know you've always kept it professional and it never interfered with work."

Tony relaxed a little in his chair, somewhat relieved that he wouldn't be walking on eggshells anymore waiting for the director to find out. Then again, there was nothing any longer to find out.

The director must have read the despair on his face because of her next question.

"Tony," she asked softly, "have you spoken to Jethro since he's been gone?"

"No. He made it pretty clear before he left that there is no _us_ anymore."

"What happened? Did you fight?"

He laughed bitterly. "Hardly! He was already gone when I got home, and all my clothes were dumped in a pile in the middle of the floor. Everything else in the bedroom was in the trash. Oh, and he threw around or out or broke everything else. I guess I'm lucky he didn't throw everything out onto the lawn."

Jenny could see the raw ache emanating from her Agent. She had observed the two of them when she realized they were in a relationship and she had never seen Jethro happier. She also knew he came by that 'second B' honestly and could be a grizzly if provoked.

"Were you in a good place before the explosion?" she asked.

"I thought so. I also thought he would at least talk to me before throwing me away. I guessed wrong on both counts." he quietly replied.

Hmm, "_throwing me away". _That was quite a telling turn of phrase. Jenny had read DiNozzo's psych evals and knew what a crappy childhood he had endured. It was no wonder he had abandonment issues. Damn Jethro!

"Tony, I don't know what possessed Jethro to do what he did before he left, but I do know he was still not in his right mind. Maybe when he comes back…"

"He's coming back!?"

"I would think so. I know he was angry over what happened on that ship, but he's way too young to retire. He'll get bored and be back, it just might take some time."

Tony wasn't sure he agreed with her, but he kept his opinions to himself.

"In the meantime, I have some attitudes to adjust on your team. I'm assigning your current case to Agent Balboa's team and standing down your team until next Monday at the earliest. Do you have Agent McGee's cell number?" she asked. "I already know how to contact Ziva"

He wrote it down for her and then sat back again.

"If I may ask, what are you going to do with them?" he asked her warily.

"First off, they will be completing every report that you have been doing for them since Agent Gibbs left. You did not shirk your duty, they are not getting away with that either." She smiled at his surprised expression. "I knew you were doing all their reports. I thought you were micro-managing until I started to get the complaints about those two from your fellow Agents and started paying attention. Tony, I apologize, it should not have gone on this long." She quietly stated. He smiled back at her in acknowledgement of her recognition. "I am also going to re-educate them on the chain-of-command structure and what is expected of them. Lastly, I'd like to let them know exactly what kind of an agent you are and exactly how qualified you are for this job. I get the impression they are both under the delusion that they have a superior intellect to yours. I intend to vividly illustrate why that is not true."

Tony sighed deeply as he digested everything the director was setting in motion. She had also given him hope that maybe things with Jethro were not so bleak. Maybe it was time to change the rules.

Jenny watched the play of emotions cross Tony's face, and she also saw him straighten in his chair as he decided to discard his 'frat boy' persona.

"You're right ma'am, it's time. I would like to be present for this little discussion though. I _am_ their supervisor." he replied with a sharp gleam in his eye.

Jenny saw the iron will of her Agent shining through, and was very glad she would not be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Absolutely. I will have them here by 3 o'clock. That should give you plenty of time to read Agent Balboa in on your case."

Tony nodded to her and stood to go find Balboa and get a few things ready.

"I'll be here, and director, thank you."

"Thank _you_, Agent DiNozzo, see you in an hour."

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

The first thing Tony did after leaving the director's office was to hunt down Balboa. It wasn't difficult, he was waiting by Tony's desk when he came back into the Bullpen.

"Hey, your team is taking over the case we caught today. The director and I decided a little re-education was warranted. Are you okay with taking over?" Tony asked him.

"No problem, man! It's about time someone wiped the smug off their faces!" Balboa replied with a huge grin.

"Are they getting the full treatment?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Tony replied. "The _real_ DiNozzo is being let out of the bag!"

"They won't know what hit them; wish I could be a fly on the wall!" Balboa snickered.

They spent the next several minutes going over the case before Tony straightened out his desk and stacked the necessary files on top of it. He then decided to see Abby first. He took a minute to look over at Jethro's empty desk. He could not see himself ever moving over to it and he was not ready to let anyone else sit there. _There's still the chance…_he thought. He shook himself and headed off to see Abby.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

It was quiet when he exited the elevator with a Caff-POW! in hand. Abby rarely blasted her music anymore, she didn't want to. She was sitting at her computer looking at a candid picture she had taken of Jethro and Tony while at a dinner at their house. Tony had his head back laughing and Jethro was leaned into him whispering something naughty in Tony's ear with a wicked smile on his face. Tony's heart clenched again. They looked so happy. Tony resolved again to see if he could mend things with Jethro, they were worth it.

He mentally shook himself again and continued on into the room, placing the Caff-POW! on the desk. Abby smiled up at him with a tired look on her face and Tony also resolved to cook for Abby, maybe tonight. They needed to have a long talk and he thought now would be a good time.

"Hey Tony, what's up? I don't have anything yet, my babies have not yet dinged."

"I know Abby. Balboa is taking over the case, let him know when you get results."

"Why! Is anyone sick? Did someone get hurt? You need to tell me if someone is hurt!"

"Abby, Abby, slow down. Everyone is healthy. My two subordinates decided they had something better to do and walked out right after we got back." hr replied with a frown.

"WHAT! They can't do that! AARGH! Did you report them to the Director? They can't get away with that anymore! Please tell me you finally reported them? They are SO taking advantage of you being nice since Gibbs left! They…"

"ABBY!"

Abby stopped mid-tirade to look at Tony.

"I didn't have to say anything. The Director saw the whole thing, but _they_ didn't see the Director." He replied with a smirk of his own.

"Ha! She is SO going to take them down!" Abby crowed.

"That she will, but she'll have help from me. This ends now." Tony stated with a determined look on his face.

"Good." Abby said brightly. She stood up to give him a big hug.

"Something else, could you come by my apartment about 6 for dinner? We both need to talk." Tony asked her.

"Sure! Do you need me to bring anything?" she replied.

"Just your lovely self" he replied as he kissed her temple while she giggled.

"Gotta go, places to be, and butts to kick, see ya tonight!" he threw over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"Go Get 'Em, Tiger!" she teased as she turned back to her computer, feeling better than she had in quite some time.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

Tony's next stop was Autopsy. As he entered the room, Ducky and Palmer looked up from their current occupant.

"Ah, my dear boy. I'm afraid we've only just gotten started. I have no results for you yet." Ducky stated.

"No worries, Ducky. I'm here to tell you that Balboa is taking over the case, let him know when you have anything."

"Is something wrong, Anthony? I've never known you to willingly give up a case, or is this unwillingly?" Ducky asked.

"Well, there is a problem, but it's not about the case. My team decided to take a half-day vacation when we got back and I'm tired of picking up their slack." he advised them, looking irritated.

"That doesn't sound like young Timothy or Ziva! Whatever would make them behave in such a manner?"

"They have been behaving just like that since Agent Gibbs left Doctor Mallard!" Jimmy responded. "They haven't shown Tony any respect and usually just ignore anything he tells them to do!" Jimmy was getting angrier and angrier by the minute just thinking about them.

"Is this true, Anthony?" Ducky asked.

"I'm afraid so Ducky." Tony replied quietly. "I've cut them slack because they were pretty upset when Gibbs left, but that ends today." "They were not aware their little mutiny was witnessed by the Director and pretty much every other agent on the floor. They are in for a long overdue attitude adjustment, and the Director and I will be the adjustors." He finished with a wink to Jimmy.

"It's about time! Boy, I wish I could see that!" Jimmy replied grinning.

"I'm afraid I owe you an apology as well Anthony. I have not been as supportive as I should have been and I may have overlooked some indiscretions on the part of Mr. McGee and Miss David in regards to you. Can you forgive me, dear boy?"

"Of course, Ducky" Tony replied while patting the ME on the shoulder.

"We were all pretty blindsided when Gibbs left, but it's time to move on. I'm just going to move forward like he won't be coming back. If he does, we'll move on from there." Tony replied.

"A splendid plan Anthony!"

"I agree, Tony. Are you going to let them know who you really are too?" Jimmy asked.

"That's the plan. The jaws you will hear hitting the floor will be coming from Tim and Ziva when they find out exactly _how_ qualified I am to be their superior." Tony replied with a shark's grin.

"I'll be leaving after the re-education class, see you both tomorrow!" he waved as he breezed back out of Autopsy.

"Bye Tony!"

"Goodnight, dear boy!"

"Hmm, I think there are two _very _junior agents about to learn their place on the food chain." Ducky said to his assistant after Tony had left.

"Could not have come too soon Doctor!" smiled Jimmy.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

As soon as Tony left the director's office Jenny picked up her phone and dialed Ziva's cell phone. It only rang once before the other woman picked up.

"Jenny! What can I do for you?" Ziva asked.

"You can report to my office at 3pm Officer David" the director coolly replied.

"I do not understand, is there a problem?" Ziva asked confusedly.

"That, you will find out at 3pm, and Officer David? DON'T BE LATE!" Jenny replied as she cut the connection.

Using Tony's note she then called McGee's cell phone. It too was answered on the first ring.

"Director! What can I help you with?" McGee answered.

"You will report to my office at 3pm today Agent McGee. You have less than an hour Agent McGee, you WILL NOT be late!" The director replied.

"Y-yes ma'am! I'll be there, on time m-ma'am!" Tim stuttered into the phone.

"See that you are!" The director snapped as she disconnected the call.

Jenny leaned back in her chair and let a smirk play over her face. _Well, that was fun!_ she thought. She couldn't wait to bring two very smug, arrogant agents down to size. It was turning out to be a _very_ good day. She smiled to herself as she used her intercom to speak to her assistant.

"Cynthia, would you please get me the personnel files for Agent McGee and Officer David right away?"

"Yes, Director."

Jenny had already pulled Tony's file from her cabinet when, a few minutes later, her assistant brought the two files in.

"Thank you Cynthia. Will you clear my schedule for the remainder of the day? I'll be in a meeting with Agent DiNozzo and his two subordinate agents from 3 o'clock on, we're not sure how long this will take."

"Of course, Director"

"Oh, and Cynthia? Keep Agent McGee and Officer David in the waiting room until exactly 3pm please."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Cynthia smiled to herself as she returned to her desk. It sounded like two very clueless agents were about to be enlightened. She hummed to herself as she made the necessary changes to the director's schedule.

Jenny then called Agents Balboa and Franklin to assist in the outer office. She had no illusions that Ziva would not kick up a fuss when she'll be told to wait. After getting assurances that either Balboa or Franklin would alert Cynthia to their arrival and then assist, she also arranged for 4 Marine guards to be present. You could never be too careful where Ziva was concerned.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

Tony was whistling as he made his way back up to the director's office about 40 minutes later. He greeted Cynthia with one of his trademark DiNozzo smiles that lit up the room.

"Good afternoon, Ms Cynthia! How are you this fine day?" he chirped as he perched on the edge of her desk.

"I am just fine Agent DiNozzo and I'm betting your day is just going to get better!" she replied as she smiled up at him.

"Oh, you know it!" He gestured to the director's door while raising an eyebrow in question.

"Go right in, she's expecting you"

"Thank you, ma'am."

Tony knocked and entered the office, closing the door behind him.

"How do you want to do this director?" he asked as she looked up from the files she was perusing.

"Please, call me Jenny. I think we're far beyond formalities at this point!"

"Thank you Jenny." he gave her a small grateful smile. "What's the battle plan?"

"Let's move over to the conference table and we can discuss it."

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

Tim and Ziva both arrived back at NCIS at nearly the same time. They rode up in the elevator together and neither were surprised Tony was not at his desk.

"Perhaps he has finally been demoted and is whining to Abby!" Ziva gleefully commented as she stowed her weapon in her desk.

"I don't think so Ziva. Maybe we went too far?" Tim responded, eyeing the two stacks of files on Tony's desk.

"Phttt! Tony should learn his place, I do not know why Gibbs ever made him his SFA to begin with!" she snidely replied.

Tim had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly what Gibbs had seen in Tony, but he would never dare voice that particular thought! Besides, Gibbs had left Tony behind too. If they had something going on, he surely would have asked him to come too.

Ziva breezed up to the Director's office with Tim in her wake, not at all seeing the death glares they were receiving from the other teams. Tim saw them though and his stomach starting churning as they reached the outer office. They were 10 minutes early.

"The director is expecting us." Ziva imperiously announced as they entered the outer office.

Cynthia, having been tipped off by Agent Balboa, was already up and standing in front of the closed inner doors.

"Please sit down Officer David and Agent McGee, the director is in a meeting."

"She is expecting us!" Ziva tried to press forward, but Cynthia did not budge.

"The director is expecting you at 3pm and not a minute earlier, please sit down!"

"I see no reason to delay! The director…" Ziva started in again.

"The director has asked you to wait Officer David! Do we have to restrain you until your appointed time?" a deep male voice loudly said from behind them.

Ziva and McGee turned to see Agent Balboa, Agent Franklin and four Marines standing just inside the outer office door.

"Ziva! Sit down!" McGee hissed as he quickly took a seat.

Two of the Marine guards moved around to block entrance to the inner door while the other two moved forward with the two supervisory agents to confront Ziva head on.

"Now, I know you're not very good at following orders David, but you WILL sit down until you are called. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" Lead agent Franklin practically shouted into her face as he leaned down into her personal space.

Ziva, not expecting anything like this, was actually quite shaken by the waves of contempt rolling off the guards, the lead agents and the director's assistant. Not wanting to appear weak though, she tossed her hair back stating, "I will sit." as she took a seat next to McGee.

"Smartest choice you've made in months, David." Agent Balboa retorted as he leaned back with Agent Franklin on the wall next to Cynthia's desk so they could stare holes in David and McGee, just for fun.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

The director and Tony heard the raised voices from the outer office and Tony remarked, "Sounds like little Mary Sunshine has arrived."

"Sounds like." Jenny smirked. "Let's let Balboa and Franklin tear a strip off first, shall we?"

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, Madame Director!"

She chuckled quietly and remarked, "I don't see that happening, Tony."

"While I was going over Officer David's file, I was quite surprised to find no formal education in it!" She continued, "Were you aware of that Tony?"

"Actually, yes. It kind of surprised me too. The info took some digging to find, but I knew about that not long after she joined the team." He replied.

"You didn't trust her?"

"Frankly, no. It seemed a little too convenient that she was assigned to us so soon after her half-brother took out a member of our team." this was said with a trace of bitterness, the director noted.

"You didn't trust me then either, did you?" She quietly asked. "Has that changed?"

"No director, I did not, and yes, that has changed. You have only ever shown me respect, and you have had my back through this very difficult time. I have to say, it's really been nice having someone able to see through the smoke screen I put up to be able to do this job. Too bad people I considered 'friends' are not able to. I'm not too surprised with Ziva, she's always had a version of me stuck in her mind and it'll be hard to change that viewi, but Tim should know better."

Jenny watched as Tony was talking while also staring out the window. He had a resigned look on his face.

"You might have to put the 'friend' part on the back-burner for awhile Tony."

"Oh, I think that ship has sailed. I'm about to lay down the law on exactly what is an acceptable way to treat me, they'll probably never see me as a friend again." he wryly replied.

"It's a delicate balance. It's almost like a parent/child relationship, they need to know where the boundaries are. That's why we're here today." she smiled at him.

"I guess so." Tony sighed deeply. "Boy, I really let this get out of hand. Are you sure you don't want another team lead?" he quietly asked.

"Absolutely not! You may have been too lenient, but I know you are perfectly capable of reining them in and you are a _great_ team leader!" she emphatically stated. "On another subject, when was the last time you had a day off Tony?"

He blew out a long breath, "Oh, I think it was the weekend before Jethro was blown up." He winced a little at the memory, realizing that was his last truly happy moment. "That's something I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Do you think I could take the rest of the day off? I need a little decompression time. I could ask Vince Balboa or Ted Franklin to watch the kids until tomorrow." he asked her a little hesitantly.

She smiled warmly at him. "Already arranged, Tony. I think you need some breathing room. After the meeting, take the rest of today and the week off. I know you've spent every waking hour, and some sleeping hours too, trying to keep everything running. You don't have to do it alone. We can ride herd on your agents until Saturday. I assume you will want to be here over the weekend to enforce the deadline?"

"You assume correct, Madame Director." Tony replied with a smirk. "I think I will take some time. It's not a problem to be out until Saturday?"

"No problem at all, Tony! I'll tell them you will be out of the office for important meetings. If they press the issue, I'll tell them you are interviewing their replacements, just in case." Jenny replied with a smirk of her own.

"Wow, that's evil. I knew we'd get along!" Tony replied with the only genuine smile she had seen from him in months.

"Well, it looks like it's time. Are you ready?" she asked him.

"Always, ma'am!" he replied, putting on his lead agent mask.

Jenny smiled approvingly. _"They won't know what hit them." _she thought.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

At precisely 3pm, Cynthia announced, "Agent McGee, Officer David, you may go in now."

McGee and David rose together while the Marines guarding the door parted to allow them entry. While Ziva was quite surprised to see Tony sitting at the Director's right hand at the conference table, Tim was not. Tim had, in the past, seen Tony tear another junior agent a new one when that agent had almost caused the death of a fellow agent because of negligence. Tim had been new to the MCRT and had been terrified of Tony for a good two months afterward. Funny, he had conveniently forgotten that incident until this moment. Tony was wearing the same face he wore that day. Tim gulped, this would not be good.

"Agent McGee, Officer David, please sit down, we have much to discuss." Director Shepherd instructed in a deceptively cheerful voice.

McGee and David sat at the opposite end of the conference table to the director and Tony, neither one wanting to get too close.

"First off, let me ask you a question: In what reality do you live in where you find it acceptable to leave in the middle of an active investigation!?" the director's tone was icy as she looked from one agent to the other.

"Well? Someone needs to answer, RIGHT NOW!" the director demanded.

Her tone made both Tim and Ziva jump. "Ah, ah director, we didn't m-mean…" Tim started.

"Didn't mean what Agent McGee? Didn't mean to shirk your duty? Didn't mean to allow the killer of Petty Officer Bryan a free pass because you just didn't feel like working today? Didn't mean to delay the progress of this investigation while another team was brought up to speed to cover for you when you decided to desert your post? Tell me what part of that you '_didn't mean_' Agent McGee and Officer David, feel free to jump in at any time to explain what you '_didn't mean_'." Tony felt a stab of satisfaction go through him, no one could do snark like the director.

"This is ridicules!" Ziva exploded, slamming her palm on the table. "Tony knew we were leaving, he was aware. If he did not want us to go, he should have said so! If the case was impeded in any way, it was his fault!"

Tim gasped and stared horrifyingly at Ziva. He looked back to find Tony staring directly at him, with that shark's grin he had worn that long-ago day. Tim had forgotten how scary Tony really could be. He blanched at that look and then slumped a little as the look was turned on Ziva. She had the involuntary reaction of leaning back from the table, away from him. She had never seen that look before on Tony and it was disturbing.

"Why would I do that?" he asked her in a very quiet voice.

Ziva, sure of herself and deciding to not heed the warnings, plunged on into oblivion, "Because you do not know how to manage anything! All you care about is what club you are going to or what suit you have just bought, you are NOT a leader!"

The room got deathly quiet and McGee unconsciously held his breath, hurricane Tony was about to make landfall.

Tony's grin morphed into a smirk, and then he started.

"Officer David, how would you have the slightest knowledge on how to run an investigation? You have zero experience in that field whereas I have 11 YEARS of field and practical investigative experience! We'll go back to the clubbing and suit comment a little later, right now I want to go into the educational background of my qualifications. You are both under the impression that I only hold a 'Phys Ed' degree from Ohio state. This fully illustrates your lack, the BOTH of you, of investigative skills. That was actually my minor, I had a double major at Ohio State, one in Criminology the other in Criminal Psychology, both of which I hold a Master's degree in."

Tony let that little tidbit sink in before he continued.

"Let's go back to the 'Phys Ed' degree, or to put it more accurately, Pre-Med. I graduated at the top of my class in all three fields and was invited to Johns Hopkins to study medicine." Tony pinned McGee with a sharp look as he said this that caused McGee's face to further redden. "The 'Phys Ed' degree alone is so comprehensive at Ohio State that with that degree alone I could have practiced sports medicine. Now let's move on to my third Master's in Computer Forensics, which I am about one month away from completing. You only have _one_ Master's from MIT, don't you McGee? And Officer David, how many degrees do you hold?"

Tony placed his hand to his ear to hear her response. When Ziva made no sound, Tony urged her on.

"Oh, come now, Officer David, surely you have a degree in _something?_ Nothing? Oh yes, that's right I remember now!" he said sarcastically while snapping his fingers. "You do not have ANY formal schooling!" You should check GW, maybe they can give you an equivalency degree in knife handling."

Ziva's cheeks flushed, but she did not say anything.

"So, let's re-cap the educational qualification section of our show! Let's see: Anthony DiNozzo has one, two, three, three and three quarters? Hell, let's round up to four, it's only a month away! Four degrees! Three of them a Master's in the law enforcement field that this job calls for. And what do you two have? Two between you, both belonging to Agent McGee and only one a specific benefit to this job." He let the silence hang in the air for a few beats before continuing.

"Again, not too impressed with those investigative skills of yours. I have never hidden my education and have left several clues on numerous occasions as to its extant. You seem to have both willfully disregarded what's staring you in the face. Oh, and Officer David?"

Both Ziva and Tim looked up at Tony's questioning voice.

"I know you did dossier's for us all before your brother opened up a spot on the team for you," Tim gasped at that comment and Ziva had the grace to look embarrassed. "so I'll have to assume you simply did not believe anything you read about me." Tony finished with a cold smile on his face. Tim looked over at Ziva, who now looked angry, and started to re-think everything that had happened since Ziva had joined the team. As incidents and comments started running through his mind, he realized how unprofessionally he had been acting, and just how naïve he had been following Ziva's lead. He was brought out of his thoughts by Tony's voice.

"Now that that's cleared up, let's go back to that clubbing and suits remark."

"I have a question for you both-when was the last time you heard me talk, brag or even mention in passing, my going out clubbing?" Tony looked back and forth between the two. "I'm waiting! When was the last time?"

Both McGee and Ziva stole looks at each other trying to come up with an answer. They realized, too late, that Tony had changed drastically over the past year and neither had bothered to note it. They were both thinking just how much they had underestimated their team-mate, correction team _leader_, and they were both feeling foolish and embarrassed. When neither of them came up with any type of satisfactory answer, Tony posed another one.

"Ok, when was the last time you heard me mention buying a new suit, tie, pair of shoes or even some socks?" He again looked back and forth between them, but nothing was forthcoming.

"So, that's a no then?" Well, I guess that blows that theory away too." "Another outstanding piece of investigative work! Really, you two should be proud!" he sarcastically added.

"So since we've established that I am in every way possible your _superior_, in education, experience and obviously empathy, why do you two feel the need to question my instructions, undermine my authority or just flat-out ignore me? Hmmm?"

Tony took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm himself down before he continued, while his 'team' remained silent. Tim was looking at his hands in his lap and Ziva was staring at the table top.

"Since you're both at a loss, I'm going to give you a little direction." Tony started out. "Starting today, through this Sunday you WILL be at your desks, ON TIME and busily working on _all_ those reports you have refused to do since Gibbs left. You will have between now and Sunday at 1800 hours to finish these reports. If you do not finish them between now and then, you will stay in this building on Sunday and thereafter until they are done. You will also be docked 1 day of pay for every hour they are late, so you better get typing. During this time, you will be supervised at all times. If I am not there, another supervisory agent will be sitting in our area to _supervise_ you. You have proven that you cannot be trusted to work on your own, so until you can be, you will be _supervised_. At NO time during this marathon report session will you complain, question or ignore ANY order given to you by myself or any other supervisory agent. Do you understand me?" he asked in a low, dangerous tone.

"Yes, Tony"

"Yes"

"YOU ARE TO REFER TO ME AS AGENT DiNozzo or SIR! Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Yes Sir!"

"These titles, that I have _earned_ , will continue from now on, and that's even if Gibbs returns."

"I cut you both some slack because of Gibbs' unexpected departure, but that is OVER! Because even if Gibbs does return, I will STILL be your _superior_! First comes Lead/Supervisory Agent, next comes Senior Field Agent and then junior agents, and then liaison officers (Ziva flinched at this, but kept quiet), that is called _chain-of-command_ kiddies and it is something you WILL adhere to from this day forward! Am I crystal clear on this concept too?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Yes Sir!"

"Just a few more things and then you can get cracking on those reports! I was also remiss in treating you both over the years as friends, that is also a thing of the past. We are co-workers, nothing more. I would not treat an enemy as badly as you have treated me! So fool me once. Ect.-I will not be making that mistake again! We have a professional acquaintance, nothing else. I will continue to treat you as professionals and I expect to be treated in the same manner."

Both agents looked up with surprised expressions, but quickly looked back down again when Tony looked from one to the other with a glare that would make Gibbs proud.

"Well, that's all I had to say. Director? I believe you have more to add?"

"I do indeed, Supervisory Agent DiNozzo!" with that, the director turned her cold stare upon the two junior agents.

"I was leaning towards immediate termination of you both for the insubordination alone, given all the complaints I've received from other agents about your conduct and the little stunt I, myself witnessed earlier today." Both agents heads snapped up in surprise, and perhaps to argue, but any retort died on their lips when they saw the director's face, she looked like she was spitting nails! "Supervisory Agent DiNozzo convinced me to give you both a second chance, so this is it. He still sees potential in you, as deeply as it may be buried, so I will concur, I trust his judgment; but know this: This is your LAST and ONLY chance at redemption. If you fail to follow Agent DiNozzo's or ANY supervisory agents orders, you will be immediately terminated."

She looked back and forth between the two silent agents with a penetrating glare they could not meet.

"DO I make myself clear!" They both jumped at her tone.

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Now. You will BOTH receive two formal reprimands in your permanent files, one for insubordination and one for dereliction of duty." "As a result of these reprimands, you will both be docked two weeks pay-one week for each infraction."

Both agents again looked up with surprise, but both quickly looked down again when faced with the Director's and Tony's twin Gibbs glares. They had both learned from the best.

"Do you have any questions for myself or Supervisory Agent DiNozzo?"

Tim's face was red and he was intently studying his hands. Even Ziva looked properly chastised and would not meet the director's eyes. They both shook their heads no, not uttering a sound.

"No? Then get back to your desks and start those reports! Stop at Cynthia's desk on your way out, she has forms for you to sign."

As Tony and Jenny watched both agents shuffle out, and they did shuffle, they looked like they had gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, Tony and the director glanced at each other. The director noted that Tony still looked pissed, but also extremely tired. Tony saw evil satisfaction on the director's face and he again reminded himself to stay on her good side. Both of them thought that their point had gotten across to the junior agents, and both also wondered how they would respond to their newfound knowledge and positions.

****************NCIS**********************NCIS*****************************

TBC

**OK, that's all I have so far. Let me know what you think. Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated. Flames will be deleted and/or used as kindling for my fire pit. I may also send you an "I told you so" - see warnings at the beginning of this story ****;-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

******WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**ADDITIONAL WARNING: Again, the story has a little McGee/Ziva bashing, but not in this chapter. A few more romantic flashbacks with Gibbs and Tony, so no ignorant, outraged comments that I've offended your sensibilities.  
**

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed, made this a favorite or just looked at my story. Your words and encouragement are greatly appreciated. Now on with the show….**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Gibbs sat in his beach chair nursing a beer as he watched the waves roll in. Pieces of his scattered memories were chasing themselves around in his head. He had kept himself busy, and driven Mike nuts, with his zeal to fix any and everything wrong with Mike's beach hut. His home improvement crusade was a classic avoidance technique he had employed many times before. If he kept himself busy enough, and tired himself out, he wouldn't have to think. There was only so much you could do to a beach hut though and he was now left alone with his thoughts. Mike had taken off yesterday morning for the town and the Cantina mumbling about "crazy Marines with hammers" and the quiet had led him this morning to the beach. He couldn't stop the voices any longer, so he let them run free in his mind.

"_Daddy, please don't go!"…. "Be careful Gunny, we want you home in one piece!" … "Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs, I'm sorry for your loss…"_

Gibbs closed his eyes as he could almost feel his little girl's small hand when he pulled away from her to leave them that last time. She hadn't wanted to let go and it broke his heart to turn his back and walk away. Shannon had known how hard it was for him, but she was proud of her Marine and this was to be his last deployment. His grip on the long-necked bottle tightened as he again felt that stab in his chest when he thought of his girls.

"_Hell, Gunny you know I can't tell you that! I want you to damn well promise that you won't look at this file while I go for coffee!"_

Gibbs turned his face up to the sun as he remembered waiting in ambush for Hernandez for nearly three days. He now remembered how empty he felt after exacting his _revenge. _It hadn't made any difference. His girls were still gone and Gibbs couldn't help thinking now that Shannon would have been disappointed in him. He had been awash in grief and he wasn't thinking clearly. He also mused now that Franks had used his mental state to his advantage. NIS knew who Hernandez was and where he was, but they couldn't do anything about it legally. Mike had used him to make Hernandez pay and he had willingly gone along. He took another long pull from his beer and thought that he would probably do the same thing if he had it to do over. It may not have brought his girls back, but he felt better knowing Hernandez was not walking around in the world. He wondered how many other families were spared his grief because Hernandez was no longer breathing.

"_You think you can work for me Gunny? I can be known as a bastard." … "Probie! Get your ass in gear and start bagging and tagging!" … "Aw, the Hell with this, I'm done!" … "I guess you'll do Probie."_

Gibbs remembered when Franks had quit over an incident very similar to the one that drove him out and handed him the team. Both Vance and Shepherd were ambitious and had not stayed long. Vance had moved on to his own team lead position in Rota and the director had offered a posting for him and Shepherd in Paris for some black ops undercover work. Having just divorced Diane, he jumped at the chance to get away from some very sour memories.

"_Jethro! Aren't you ever coming to bed?" … "Jethro! Are you still in the basement?" … "Jethro! Are you still working on that stupid boat?" … "Jethro! You have to choose between me and your dead wife!"_

That one was a no-brainer! Gibbs shuddered as he took another swig of beer. Thank God he had gotten away from Diane! Ah, well it had been a good idea at the time. He thought again on his time in Paris and all that had transpired there.

"_Why, Agent Gibbs is that a smile I see?" … "Jethro - don't stop!" … "I never knew you could talk this much!" … "Decker says they're on the move!" … "Yes, confirmed kill."_

Gibbs thought back to the _Dear Jethro_ letter Jenny had given him when she had left him behind in France. He had thought they had a strong connection, but apparently it was just sex to her. He was a stepping stone on her way up the ladder. Since she was now the Director of NCIS, he guessed she finally made it. Who knows, maybe she was gunning for the SecNav job, he wouldn't be surprised. He did credit that letter for his quick marriage to Tessa and even quicker divorce. They both realized it had been a mistake not long after they had gotten hitched.

"_You've been married TWICE before me?!" … "You had a child!?" … "Jethro, I don't think this is going to work out."_

Gibbs sighed deeply as he recalled his short, five month marriage to Tessa. She was a nice woman, but they had both been looking for something different. At least she hadn't tried to change the part of his hair with a golf club like Stephanie had.

"_You Son of a BITCH! You promised me we were going out to dinner!" … "You are NOT going to spend all your time in this basement Jethro!" … "I swear to God Jethro I will BURN every last trace of any woman in this house other than me!" … "How can you blame me? You never paid me any attention! All you care about is your dead family and that Goddamn boat!"_

_Yeah, Stephanie had been a huge mistake._ Gibbs thought ruefully as he rubbed the scar on his scalp. She had actually been surprised when he had thrown her out after catching her cheating in their own bed. The very same bed he had burned in the backyard later that night. They had done well while he had been posted in Moscow. They traveled all over Europe that first year. Coming home to DC had been a big letdown for her. She quickly found out the debonair jetsetter she had thought she married was really a blue jeans from Sears homebody who really didn't talk very much. Especially about his feelings. It wasn't all her fault though. Maybe he was trying to be someone else too and they had deceived each other. The fact that she had wanted a child and he had refused also contributed to their downfall. The memory of Kelly had still been too fresh.

As he watched the clouds scuttle across the sky and gather at the horizon with low rumbles far out to sea, Gibbs thought back to some of the people he had first run into when he came back to NCIS. He discovered Ducky was the new ME's assistant in the basement. He had first worked with him in Paris with Jenny and knew there was far more to the Scotsman then there appeared to be. He had been their team's personal, off-the-books physician during their Paris missions and Gibbs wondered why he had switched to ME. Mulling that over in his mind, Gibbs could not remember if he knew or had ever known why he had switched over. He could not recall ever asking, but that was typical, he was not one for words. He did remember when Dr. Magnus had retired and Ducky had taken over, he had at least congratulated him.

"_Jethro! To what do I owe the pleasure? I don't believe you have an open case."_

"_Just wanted to congratulate you, Duck. At least these patients don't talk back!"_

"_Why thank you my dear boy, but you'd be surprised what they do say!"_

"_I'll take your word for it Duck."_

Gibbs smirked at the memory. He and Duck were perfect opposites. As stingy as he was with words, Duck could talk the spots off a leopard. Gibbs started a bit in his chair as memories and the emotions behind them started to slot themselves into their places in his brain. He remembered cases, bodies, agents and crime scenes. It was like watching a montage of images on a screen. He remembered Abby and how she had hugged her way into his heart.

"_Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" … "Jeez! Quit sneaking up on me!" … "Ooo! Caf-Pow! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" … "Thank you sir!" … _"Don't call me Sir Abs!" _… "Thank you ma'am!"_

Gibbs was stunned at the depth of emotion he felt as these memories swept by him. He was surprised he had let them get so close after losing his girls, but he was also surprised at the amount of guilt he felt at not sharing his girls with them. For years he kept them as a precious secret known only to him, but he knew that in recent years he had shared them with someone. A someone with dancing green eyes, an infectious laugh and a kind, loyal heart. A heart, that he knew, was not easily given away.

"_Freeze Dirtbag!" … "NCIS, you're a Navy Cop?" … "Wow, the orange walls are a bit much." … "Yes, Boss!" … "On your six, Boss!" … "Hey, Boss could you take a sniff?"… "Oh, Jethro…"_

This last memory sent a jolt of desire down his spine.

Tony.

Oh, God Tony. How could he have ever forgotten him?

When he had left, he had a vague outline of his team in his mind. Enough to know that Tony was a great SFA and he would take care of the team.

He was so much more than that, though, wasn't he?

Memories of sweet kisses, the feel of strong muscles moving under or over him, the sound of soft cries and moans and knowing he was the source of that pleasure, that he was the one able to coax that reaction out of that beautiful man. He also remembered the emotion and passion behind those images. He knew that what he felt for Tony was akin to his feelings for Shannon and as scary as that was, he also knew how right that felt.

Tony had gotten inside those walls he had put up after his girls died.

He now remembered that there was no one he trusted more in the world than Tony. He also trusted Tony with his girls too.

He was the first person he had voluntarily shared their memory with since they had died. His ex's had all found out by accident and _none_ of them were happy with the information. Tony didn't want to compete with their memory. He embraced them and knew there was room in Jethro's heart for himself and them too. He encouraged Jethro to talk about them and let them out of his self-imposed guardianship of their memory. The more he talked about them with Tony, he discovered, the better he felt. Sharing them allowed the hurt and pain to bleed away and he found he could think about them with a smile instead of the sharp spike of pain he used to get. Even now, just remembering that and thinking about them did not cause the pain it had an hour ago.

Tony had helped him heal.

He was never jealous of them.

Jethro knew that if he could trade places to bring them back, Tony would do so. That selflessness made Jethro love him all the more and bonded them even closer. They were a perfect pair. Tony's outgoing nature balanced Jethro's introvert nicely. Tony understood his silences and embraced them. Jethro understood Tony's chatter and found it comforting. Tony always knew when to keep quiet and when to let his chatty Cathy out. They could read each other's minds with a look. He had never worked with a better partner and he remembered Tony telling him he had never trusted anyone to have his back as he did Jethro.

As memories of kisses, snuggling in front of the fire, Tony cooking, showers, yard work, car repairs and painting washed over him, so did a growing feeling of dread. He had left his contact info with Ziva, the first person on his team he remembered, and Tony had not once contacted him. Then he remembered what he had done at the house before he left and it felt like someone had punched him.

"What have I done?" he whispered to himself.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

_Flashback:_

_He walked into his house after Ducky dropped him off and slammed the door shut._

_Damn those bureaucratic assholes!_

_He threw the paperwork from the hospital on the coffee table as he slumped down on the couch. He was unbelievably aggravated at just about everything. When he had first woken up at the hospital and found out it was 15 years later, he had hoped a little administrative evolution would have occurred. The one constant, however, is shortsighted, self-serving bureaucrats. He looked around his house noting several changes since he remembered living here with his girls._

_His girls._

_God he missed them. The pain was nearly unbearable._

_He looked around noting the large TV, bookcase full of what looked like movies and felt rage at all the changes that had occurred. How could he have gone on and _enjoyed_ his life after losing his girls?_

_He stood up and pulled handfuls of the movies from the bookcase and scattered them over the floor. He picked more up and threw them at the wall behind the couch. He stalked into the kitchen and noticed a newfangled machine that had cappuccino written on the side. He picked it up, ripping the cord from the wall and smashed it on the floor and stomping on the pieces. He saw food on the top of the fridge he couldn't believe he now ate and swept it all to the floor, also stomping on it when it fell._

_His rage propelled him upstairs and into his bedroom. He was appalled to find his closets and drawers filled with designer, expensive clothes. He could not believe he had pampered himself in this way! How much had he changed? He tore all these clothes out of the closet and dumped them in a pile on the floor. He pulled drawers out and dumped their contents on this pile. He then went into the master bath and found more items to enrage himself. Colognes, aftershaves, hair gels (hair gels?!) and shampoos that probably cost at least a weeks pay every month. He took them all and dumped them into the trash._

_He was breathing heavily after he finished that and he leaned on the sink to look at his reflection in the mirror. He saw an old, foolish man looking back at him._

_How could he have changed so much?_

_He had a horrible thought and flew out of the bathroom and down the hall to stand in front of a closed door. He clutched the door handle and pressed his forehead against the cool surface._

"_Please, please not this too." He quietly pled before opening the door._

_He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Kelly's room unchanged. He walked into the room and sat on the yellow bedspread. It actually looked like he had been maintaining this room, There was no dust present and the bedding looked freshly laundered. He felt himself calming down sitting in his little girl's room. Maybe there was hope for him after all. His personal life makeover was not complete. He sat for about 10 minutes just breathing in the memories of Kelly in her room. He saw her playing with her dolls and her cars on the floor over by the window. He saw Shannon sitting at the desk as she put finishing touches on Kelly's Strawberry Shortcake costume on the last Halloween he had been home. He saw himself sitting in the same place he now sat as he read his girl a bedtime story. He remembered countless nights spent just watching their girl sleep tucked in with her favorite stuffed animals._

_He took a deep breath and stood. Taking one last look around the room he walked out and quietly closed the door behind him. He had made up his mind. He had to get back to the way he had been before all these "life changes". He went back to his bedroom and dug out one of his old duffle bags from the bottom of the closet. He was a little confused at all the size 13 shoes in there when he knew he wore a size 12, but he put it down to his muddled brain. He was able to find some jeans, shorts and tee shirts that were more to his taste and he threw them all into the duffle. He went back downstairs and cleaned all the food up off the floor and threw it in the trash. He looked around at all the other items scattered on the floor and told himself he couldn't deal with it right now._

_He shut off the lights after he had called a cab to take him to the airport and locked the door behind him. He never looked back at the house as he got in the cab and left to make a flight to Mexico and forget this new life he had tried to fit into._

_End Flashback_

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Gibbs leaned forward in his chair and put his head into his hands.

"Oh, God, what have I done?" he asked himself again.

_I am an old fool!_ he thought. I tore up my life with Tony before running out on him! My God, what must he have thought finding the house like that and me gone! I broke his Christmas gift! I ruined his movies and his clothes! No wonder he hadn't heard anything from him. He must think I hate him. Gibbs sat up as waves of guilt consumed him. He found himself fighting back stinging tears. They had opened their lives to one another and Gibbs knew the hell that had been Tony's childhood and what a fear of abandonment he had. Tony had healed him of his own pain and given his heart to Jethro, who then turned around and stomped it into the ground. He wondered if it could be fixed. He stood up abruptly and almost ran back to Mike's hut. He called a cab and then quickly packed what he had brought with him in his duffle. He left a hasty note for Mike telling him he had gone home and ran out when he heard the cab driver sound his horn.

He sat musing in the back of the dusty cab as they made their way to the airport.

Home.

He hoped he still had a home back in DC, because without Tony, there was nothing.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

******WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**WARNING: More Ziva/McGee bashing to follow (More Ziva than McGee though, McArrogant has gotten a clue!).**

**I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed (sorry I am unable to respond to Guest reviews, but they are greatly appreciated!), followed or have made this story a favorite. I am overwhelmed by the show of support - thank you all! Now back to our story…**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tim and Ziva walked stiffly out of the Directors office feeling wrung out. They both quietly signed what Cynthia had waiting for them, taking the copies she handed them afterwards and then walked quietly back to their desks with their escorts.

Balboa and Franklin shared twin smirks before dismissing the four Marine guards. Balboa set a large stack of files that had been sitting on Tony's desk on McGee's desk while Franklin did the same with Ziva. They both then stood by Tony's desk with their arms crossed facing their charges.

"Alright people, since it's been so long, we'll explain with small words." Balboa started.

"These are case files." he said slowly, looking back and forth between McGee and David.

"These are from the first week after Agent Gibbs retired. They will be the first of many case files you will complete between now and Sunday."

Ziva, who had been looking through the files, finally lost her temper.

"I do not understand! These files are completed, there is nothing more to do!"

"What don't you understand, Officer David?" Franklin asked her as he leaned down over her desk and into her personal space.

Ziva did not back down. "These cases are all closed and have already been filed! There is no reason for this busyness!"

"I think you mean busywork Officer David and this is far from it." Director Shepherd remarked as she walked up with Tony who had a few files in his hand. "This is you and Agent McGee completing work that you should have when these cases were new, and I believe we went over this just a few minutes ago in my office, did we not?" Her tone had become icy as she looked back and forth between the two agents.

Balboa glanced at McGee who had already started on his files and was keeping his head down. He looked at Tony who nodded slightly back at him. Yeah, McGee had gotten the message. David would be the challenge.

Tony took a deep breath and stepped closer to Ziva's desk.

"Officer David, are you questioning an order from a superior agent?" he asked with that shark's smile firmly in place and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

As angry as Ziva was, she recognized that now was not the time to voice her complaints to Tony or the Director. She blew out a frustrated breath and replied, "No" while slamming the file she was holding back down on her desk.

Tony was immediately right next to her chair towering over her. "I thought we had established chain of command Officer David or was that just you biding your time until you can manipulate the situation back into your favor?" he asked in a low, menacing tone. "Because if that's the case, we can end it right now and have you escorted out of the building."

Ziva drew in a breath in shock and looking at Tony's face, she had no doubt that he meant every word. She glanced at the Director, Agents Balboa and Franklin and finally noticed that the Bullpen was silent as several other agents watched the scene unfold that she had put in motion. She was surprised at the looks of contempt she was getting from all sides. She finally realized that maybe she had indeed underestimated DiNozzo, and that maybe that was one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made.

She took a deep breath before answering him.

"That will not be necessary. I will start my reports now."

"Good answer, Officer David." Tony replied as he turned back to the Director.

"Director, I'll start on those interviews right away." he said as he waved the files in his hand.

"Good, Agent DiNozzo. We may have to utilize them sooner rather than later." she replied while sending a dark look in Ziva's direction. Ziva's cheeks colored slightly, but she didn't say anything more.

"I think so, Director." Tony replied while sending a wry look at McGee, whose eyes were big as saucers. McGee's face reddened further and he ducked his head back down to the file he was working on.

"Do you have this, guys?" Tony asked Balboa and Franklin.

"We sure do, man!" Balboa smiled and clapped Tony on the shoulder.

"That we do." Franklin added while shaking Tony's hand. "Don't worry, we'll make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to." he added while looking back and forth between McGee and David.

Tony moved to his desk, putting the files he had into his backpack. He then retrieved his gun and badge before slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

He then faced the two lead agents and the Director.

"I have no doubt you will. I know you have my back." he replied.

He didn't miss the slight flinch his words caused in McGee or the tinge of red in Ziva's cheeks.

"Take until Saturday for those interviews Tony, we'll take care of things here." The Director said.

"Thank you ma'am. That will give me plenty of time to decide." he smirked seeing the worried look on McGee's face and the hint of uncertainty on Ziva's. He then made his way to the elevator and was gone.

The Director then turned to the two lead agents.

"I trust you have everything in hand here, gentlemen. You know where to find me if you need me." She had a little smile on her face as she made her way back up to her office.

"Yes, ma'am!" they replied in unison as she left.

Balboa made his way over to Tony's desk while Franklin settled in at Gibbs' empty desk. Both of them booted up the computers to start in on their own reports.

"Oh, one other thing." Franklin said as both McGee and David looked up. "Bring your finished reports to either myself or Agent Balboa as you get done with them so we can check them for errors."

"What, Tony cannot check them himself? Is he now too good for that?" Ziva sniped.

Tim was amazed at the hole that Ziva kept digging for herself. He could not believe he had ever thought she was smarter than Tony. Then again, he had also thought himself superior to Tony. Looking back, he was also amazed he still had a job. _I have a long way to go to be as good an agent as Tony is. _He thought to himself. At least I won't ever make the mistake of following Ziva's lead again. He just hoped it wasn't too late to prove to Tony that he could trust him.

"I think AGENT DiNozzo has spent quite enough time correcting your mistakes, don't you Miss David?" Franklin replied with a glare that would make Gibbs proud.

Surprisingly, Ziva ducked her head and resumed her work without a reply. Franklin and Balboa shared a smirk across the Bullpen before they went back to their own work.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

As Tony was driving away from the Navy Yard, his thoughts turned back to the files in his backpack.

_Flashback:_

_As the door closed behind McGee and David, Tony rubbed both his hands down his face, as if to wipe away the confrontation that just occurred. He sighed deeply and then stood to leave._

_The Director also stood and asked him, "Do you think it worked?"_

"_I think it worked for McGee, he may have wet himself." he replied with a smirk._

"_Ziva will be a tough nut to crack. She's been told her whole life how important she is and how superior to others, that won't be easy to overcome." he grimly said._

"_Hmm. I'm afraid I helped that attitude along when I forced her on your team. I just hope she comes to her senses and straightens up before we have to take drastic measures."_

_The Director moved over behind her desk and Tony moved to stand in front of it, facing her._

"_Tell me this, Tony - Do you trust them to have your back in the field?" she asked._

"_At this point, I'm not sure." he truthfully answered. "I'm pretty sure McGee would cover me, but I don't want to turn my back on Ziva just yet."_

"_I'm hoping this little report marathon will force her to realize just how much they have been slacking off. Then again, it'll probably just piss her off and get her thinking about creative ways to off me." he sighed._

"_That's what I was afraid of." the Director replied._

_She picked up four files from her desk and handed them to Tony._

"_Take these with you and look them over while you're off. These are four of the most promising agents at FLETC that I think would fit in. Even if they both straighten up and do their jobs, you will need a fourth for the team. If they don't straighten up, you'll be all set with replacements." she smirked._

_Tony took the files with a smirk of his own._

"_I like the way you think Jenny."_

_Jenny saw a shadow pass over his face as he looked back down at the files._

"_What are you thinking, Tony?"_

_He smiled wryly at her. "You're almost as good at that as Gibbs."_

"_I think we both learned from the best." she replied. "Now, what's bothering you?"_

"_I understand the need for a forth, but what if Gibbs does come back?" He asked her with a forlorn look on his face._

_Jenny sighed as she again silently cursed Jethro for tearing this man's heart out._

"_If he does come back, there are no guarantees he can walk right back into his position." she answered, Tony's eyes widened and she had to smile at the surprised look on his face._

"_He went through extreme trauma to his body and mind and he has been out of commission for over three months now. He would have to go through a psych eval, a physical and re-qualify at the range before I would even consider letting him back into the field. Also, if he thinks he can waltz in here and push you aside to take back his team, he is seriously delusional. That will NOT happen!" she stated emphatically.._

"_Thanks Jenny." Tony replied with a small smile._

"_Don't worry Tony, you're an excellent team leader. I will not have one of my best agents disrespected!" He again ducked his head as his face colored slightly._

"_Well, I better go and make sure they're not kicking up too much of a fuss for Balboa and Franklin, not that they can't handle it." he said._

"_I'll go with you. I don't want Ziva thinking she can get away with anything because of our previous work together." the Director said as she rounded her desk to walk with Tony._

"_I'm glad to hear you say that Director, I was wondering that myself." he replied._

"_No worries Tony. If it came down to a choice between you or her, I would pick you every time."_

"_Good to know Director, good to know." he smiled as he held the door open for her._

_End Flashback. _

Tony again smiled as he recalled the Director's words. It was good to hear someone had so much faith in him.

He sighed to himself as he thought back over the scene in the Bullpen. McGee was going to be fine, but Ziva was talking herself off the team faster than she realized.

If he could not trust her to have his and McGee's backs in the field, it would be too dangerous to keep her on the team. He would really take a close look at those files. It looked like he would be needing someone new sooner than he thought.

His musings came to an end as he pulled into the parking lot for the supermarket to get the makings for his dinner with Abby.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Abby was bouncing as she hurried down the hall to Tony's apartment. She couldn't wait to talk to him. News of the dust-up in the Bullpen spread rapidly through the Yard and she had pulled up the security feed to watch it for herself.

She danced around cheering Tony, the Director, Balboa and Franklin as they lay down the law. She couldn't wait to tell Tony what happened after he left and Ziva got snotty with Franklin! She had already arranged baskets of goodies to be delivered to him, Balboa and the Director as thanks for standing up for her Tony-boy!

She had been watching everything again when Ducky and Palmer came into her lab to drop off samples. They too had heard of the altercation and came up to discuss it. She rewound it back to the beginning and they all watched it again, high-fiving each other when it was over.

Palmer was grinning from ear to ear and Ducky had a satisfied look on his face. They had both returned to autopsy in a lighter mood than when they came in.

Abby knocked on Tony's door until he opened it. She immediately launched herself at him and squeezed the stuffing out of him.

"Abs, can't breathe!" he wheezed out.

She let him go, but peppered his face with kisses while he laughed. Sometimes she really did remind him of a manic puppy!

"What is all this?" he asked as he pushed her back to arm's length.

"I saw what happened in the Bullpen! It was so great! I'm SO proud of you!" she said as she pulled him into a tight hug again.

"Abs!" he squeaked as his air supply was again cut off. He had to pry her arms away from him and push her in the direction of the living room as he closed and bolted the door.

He took a deep breath and winced a little as he rubbed his tender chest after her assault. _Man, that's gonna leave a mark!_ He thought to himself as he walked back into the apartment.

"Dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes. Do you want to start with a salad first?" he asked her.

"No!" she nearly shouted. "You need to tell me everything that went on with the meeting! I want all the details!" she plopped down on the couch and pulled him down next to her.

"I can't give you all the details, Abs. It was a disciplinary meeting between the Director, myself and two subordinates. McGee and Ziva deserve a little privacy. How would you feel if you were in their position and your supervisor blabbed confidential details all over the Yard?" he sternly asked her.

She sighed deeply. "You're no fun!" she pouted. "But, I guess you're right. That would suck."

"But wait until you hear what happened after you left!" she gushed.

"Uh-oh, I'm not sure I want to hear it." he replied, looking apprehensive.

"No, No! It's really good! So, Franklin told them both to bring their finished reports to either him or Balboa so they could check them for mistakes and then Ziva gets all snotty and makes some remark about you being too good to check them now, and Franklin blasts her back saying _"Don't you think Agent DiNozzo has wasted enough time correcting your mistakes!" _Tony's eyes widened at that. "Oh, yeah! She called you Tony when she was being snotty and Franklin made a point of calling you Agent DiNozzo to correct her, it was SO cool! Go Teddy!" she was bouncing up and down on the couch as she related her little tale. She reminded him of an eight year old on a sugar high.

"Wait, you call him Teddy?" he asked her incredulously.

"Of course! That's his name, isn't it?" she asked him brightly.

"Well, yeah…but that would be like calling Director Morrow Tommy!"

She then got this gleam in her eye that prompted him to ask, "Oh, tell me you didn't call him that?"

"Heck no! That man was _scary_!" she replied with a shudder.

He chuckled as he kissed her forehead. "I'll have to buy him and Balboa coffee and maybe lunch when I get back for putting up with them."

"What do you mean, when you get back? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere Abs. I'm just taking a few days to decompress.

"Cool! OH! I sent goodie baskets to Franklin, Balboa and the Director as a thank you for taking care of my Tony-boy!"

"That was very sweet, Abs. Thanks for having my back." he smiled warmly at her.

"Anytime, Kimosabe!" she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Sooo, you can't tell me anything about the meeting?" she asked him with pleading eyes.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not as easy as everyone thinks I am!" he replied smiling while getting up to check on their dinner.

"Oh, I _know _you're not easy!" she retorted as she got up to follow him into the kitchen.

"In fact, you're probably the most complex man I've ever met, and that includes Gibbs." she said as she sat down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "Oh Tony, I'm so sorry!"

"No problem Abs. Invoking the name of Gibbs doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did right after he left." he answered her while putting their salads together.

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist while resting her head on his back.

"My poor Tony-boy! I still can't believe he did that!" She kissed him between his shoulder blades when he tensed at her words. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, Tony. You've had a bad enough day. Forgive me?" she asked him in a small voice.

He turned around in her embrace and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Of course, I forgive you. I've been thinking a lot about that and I'm hoping he was just not in his right mind. I mean, he did call me McGee!" Abby snickered as Tony shuddered at that memory. He extricated himself from her arms and finished the salads.

"What are you going to do if he comes back?" she asked him as she sat back down.

"I'm not sure." he replied as he set her salad in front of her. "Raspberry Vinaigrette or French?" he asked from the fridge, deflecting her question expertly.

"Ooh! Vinaigrette, that sounds good!"

He smiled at her choice. "That's what I thought you'd say. I got it just for you." he told her as he sat down beside her at the breakfast bar and poured them both a glass of wine.

She leaned over for another quick hug as he added the French dressing to his salad. "You always take such good care of everybody. Nobody sees how thoughtful you are."

"You noticed Abs." He replied with a soft smile. "There's not much you miss about anything."

"Aww, thanks Tony-boy! Love you too!" This response got her a genuine DiNozzo Dazzler. Her name for his big smile that actually reached his eyes and made him look ten years younger. She was very happy to see it again and happy that she had put it on his face. Gibbs was the last one who had been able to do that, it had been too long.

They talked about movies, TV shows and celebrities over the excellent veggie lasagna with homemade garlic bread he had made for her. Over a dessert of cherry cheesecake they caught up on the office gossip. He discovered that a threesome was going on in the mailroom and she discovered one of the cyber geeks was dating the new hot chick from HR. They both laughed and reconnected as they had not done since Gibbs left. It felt good to both of them.

As they both settled on the couch with a bottle of water each and a movie playing softly on the TV, Abby started asking more serious questions.

"How are you really doing, Tony? And don't just blow me off with an I'm fine - you know that doesn't work with me Mister!" she asked him while facing towards him on the couch so she could read his body language.

He was facing the TV, but she had a good view of his face, so she saw the brief look of pain that crossed it. He took a slug of water before answering her.

"I'm better." he answered quietly. "I was a mess right after he left, but even though it still hurts a lot, I'm better."

"I just - I don't know what I could have said or done to make him react like that!" He got up and started to pace back and forth as he worked through his emotions.

"We were good! We hadn't had any big blowouts! I don't get it!" he ran his hand through his hair making it stick up in spikes as he tried to figure out what he had done to piss Gibbs off so much.

"Well, maybe he was just still really angry about what happened at work and it didn't have anything to do with you!" Abby reasoned.

"C'mon Abs! The only things he tore up or destroyed were mine! Hell, he even threw the food I liked away! If that wasn't personal, I don't know what was!" he threw himself back on the couch next to her with a sad look on his face.

"I just don't know what I did." he said in a small voice.

Abby cuddled up next to him and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Well, we're just going to have to ask him." she said in a determined voice.

"Abs…"

"No Tony! I know he's our functional mute, but he's going to have to talk about this! You can't just attack someone like that for no reason and then not expect to have to explain yourself!" she said heatedly as she sat up and looked at him.

He looked over at her face that wore such an outraged expression on his behalf, and felt a blossoming warmth in his chest. He was so incredibly lucky to have found these people who cared about him so much! He had a small smile on his face as he replied to her.

"This is Gibbs we're talking about, Abs. When have you ever known him to do something he didn't want to do?"

"Oh, don't you worry Tony-boy! When I get through with him he'll be talking about every thought and feeling he's had since the explosion or I will move in with him and break my Caf-Pow record! I'll even have a Caf-Pow machine installed in his kitchen so I don't have to go out!"

He started laughing as an image of Gibbs trying to escape a seriously caffeinated Abby ran through his mind.

"Thanks Abs, I really needed that laugh."

"My pleasure." she said brightly as she snuggled back against him.

"There's one problem, though." he said. "What if he never comes back?" he asked sadly.

"Oh, Tony." Tears threatened to fall as she snuggled closer to him. _What _are_ we going to do, if he never comes back?_ She thought to herself.

They fell asleep against each other as the movie continued to quietly play.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim collapsed on his bed, absolutely drained emotionally.

_What a day_, he thought to himself. _Man, did I really screw this up!_

_How could I have been so blind?_

His brain was in overdrive, going over every snarky comment and hurtful remark he had thrown at Tony over the last year.

_I can't believe I was so cruel! _Sure Tony played pranks on him, but he was never cruel. He replayed some comments in his mind and recalled the brief flashes of hurt that Tony quickly covered up. He even remembered feeling glad that he had hit a nerve and caused Tony pain. _He must really think I'm an asshole _he thought miserably.

He then thought back on everything Tony had done for him. He remembered how Tony had been there for him when he had shot that undercover cop and he had still treated him like a jerk. He started thinking back to when Kate was still alive and how they had all bantered. They had all gotten in some good digs, but it was never intentionally cruel. He remembered when Tony and Kate had teamed up against him when they were investigating that mafia bone yard at Quantico. He actually laughed a little to himself.

_Man, was I naive! _He realized now they were only doing that to toughen him up. He mused that, that was not long after he began seeing a change in Gibbs. He smiled more, even joked more. He had also caught him smiling at some of Tony's comments. That had started when Tony had been missing in that sewer looking for Sgt. Atlas. He had been called in after Tony had been kidnapped to try and help track him down. Gibbs had been a bear with a sore paw and everybody stayed out of his way.

He remembered when they had all come back after finding Tony and Gibbs had made that joke. Tony had been looking at Gibbs with that wry smile on his face and Gibbs' eyes were twinkling - _twinkling! _They did that thing where they talked to each other without speaking and Gibbs told everyone to go home, reports could wait. He had been shocked, but Kate just had this knowing smirk on her face as Gibbs herded Tony back into the elevator saying he was giving him a ride home. He remembered Kate saying under her breath _"Yeah, I'll bet he's giving him a ride!" _When Tim asked her to repeat it, she just said _"Nothing! See you tomorrow McGee!" _As she rushed out.

"Oh, no! Tony!" he said aloud as he sat up. _"Oh, God, if they were together and Gibbs forgot who he was!" _"Crap!" he said as he put his arm up over his eyes. Tony had been kicked to the curb by Gibbs, even if he couldn't remember, it still sucked, and he and Ziva had made his life a living hell this whole time.

He sighed deeply as he thought of Ziva and her campaign against Tony. He could only see it as a campaign now as he thought back on everything she had done and had roped him into doing. He should have known when Tony had not been invited to that _"team" _dinner party she had thrown. He remembered the look of hurt on Tony's face when he realized he had not been invited. He had felt a twinge of regret for teasing him about it when he saw that and then he remembered Gibbs looking troubled when he saw Tony's reaction. _He didn't know Tony had not been invited! _That smug look of triumph on Ziva's face though! She had gotten the reaction out of Tony she was aiming for.

He now realized that Ziva must have seen Tony as a threat. She had immediately placed herself on an equal level with Gibbs, but her position on the team made her a subordinate of Tony's and she wasn't going to let that stand! She either knew they were a couple or suspected and was trying to drive a wedge between them! She had always acted jealous when Gibbs listened to or deferred to Tony, but he never thought she'd go that far.

She was trying to get rid of Tony and get herself put in as SFA! She was furious when Gibbs had left and the Director had made Tony the lead agent. She had really stepped up her campaign against him then, and stupid me went right along with her! _You moron! _He didn't blame Tony for saying they were no longer friends, but that had really hurt. He was going to try to speak with Tony one-on-one when he came back and try to fix whatever he could.

He was going to start with looking into that case he looked over today from right after Gibbs left, concerning Renny Grant. He hadn't done all he could have done research-wise at the time and he was going to correct that tomorrow! Jeez, he hoped they hadn't sent an innocent man to jail! Tim forced himself to his feet and got ready for bed. Balboa and Franklin had not let them leave until almost 10pm and he had to be back at his desk by 8am tomorrow, so he better get to bed.

As he lay in his bed with his mind still racing, he realized that he had treated Tony just like his childhood bullies had treated him. He was no better than they were. He hoped it wasn't too late to make amends and start new. He really didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't be on a team with Tony. He didn't trust anyone else to watch his back. That morose thought chased him into sleep and he tossed and turned all night dreaming very bad dreams.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva was surprised she made it home in one piece. She had probably been going close to 100mph at some point and she had no real memory of the drive home. She had slammed her apartment door so hard there was a crack in the paint above the door.

Damn Tony DiNozzo! Damn him!

She could not believe he had bested her and now had everyone on his side! Her mission had been to get close to Gibbs and collect all the intel she could from the Navy. Tony had thwarted her at every turn! She had thought it would be easy to get around him, but he had never been fooled by her. He had never trusted her and when she found out he had investigated her a few weeks after she had joined the team, she had been furious! How dare he! She picked up a vase of flowers and smashed it on the opposite wall.

The smashing vase had brought her back to herself and she sat down heavily at her dining room table. The adrenalin leaving her body also cleared her mind and she started rolling things over in her brain. She had done the dossier's for Ari on Gibbs' team and she knew how extensive Tony's education was. She knew his IQ was over 180. He also had numerous commendations and awards for bravery or service above and beyond the call of duty. She had found out that he came from a very wealthy family, but had put himself through school. She found out he had no relationship at all with his father and that his mother had killed herself when he was eight years old. She also knew that he had been the one to find his mother's body and that he had spent nearly 12 hours alone with her until a housekeeper had found him. Recalling that, she remembered sitting with Tali's body for nearly a day in the rubble of their home until help had come. She had read psych evals of his where he stated that he was sitting with his mother's body so she would not be alone and he was protecting her. She had read how his worthless father had left him alone in a hotel room in Hawaii for three days when he was ten years old so he could chase a wealthy divorcee back in California!

She knew he had been disowned by said worthless father at the age of twelve and had been sent alone to a military school over 300 miles away from his home. She knew he had practically raised himself from the age of eight and he had still turned into a decent human being. She put herself in his place and realized she would have been suspicious of herself too. Coming in like she had, right after a great tragedy that deeply affected the team, she would have investigated her also. Her psych training had helped her realize that he saw the team as his surrogate family and she had used that against him. She had tried to drive a wedge between him and the rest of the team so either they would cut themselves off from him or he would distance himself when they hurt him. She thought she had succeeded with her 'team' dinner that he had not been invited to.

What she didn't know was that he was dating Gibbs and they had a very strong relationship. She had surmised that Tony had seen Gibbs as a surrogate father, not as a romantic endeavor. After he had talked to Gibbs and Gibbs knew she had lied and had never invited Tony to the party, he had all but frozen her out. Gibbs had caught her in a stairwell at work the next morning and told her if she ever had a _team_ get together again, she had damn well better invite the whole team. He had then crowded her against the wall and hissed in her ear, that if she ever lied to him again or did not watch Tony's back in the field that they would not have to ship her back to Israel, because there wouldn't be a piece of her big enough to ship. _If _they ever found a piece at all.

Gibbs had scared her badly that morning. She knew he did not make idle threats. After calming down a bit, she had gotten angry and got back at Tony the only way she could, by isolating him. She had enlisted McGee in her campaign of slander against Tony. She knew Gibbs could not say too much about her cutting remarks concerning Tony's bimbos, because they were not open about their relationship and did not want anyone to find out. She thought her mission was doomed for failure and she would have to return home anyway soon when Gibbs got blown up. At first, she had been delighted. Gibbs could not be team leader, and he obviously did not remember that he was suspicious of her, so that threat was taken care of. When she realized he did not remember Tony either, it was like she had won the lottery! She could almost see Tony crumble in on himself when Gibbs left with a "You'll do". When she found out he had fled the country without a word to Tony and that Tony had moved out of Gibb's house right away, it was more than she could have hoped for. She didn't have to crush his spirit, Gibbs had done that all on his own!

Then Jenny had made Tony the team lead! What was she thinking? Ziva now knew exactly what she had been thinking. She had seen beyond Tony's frat boy mask to see the outstanding agent and human being hidden inside. Ziva had actually marveled that after taking so many blows, he had stepped up and kept the team together. True, he had been lenient (much to her delight!), but they had still closed cases at the same rate the did before Gibbs left. She now realized he had done most all of their work by himself. She had thought he would break, but he had not. He had kept things together despite her best efforts to derail him.

She had seen a different man today. A man who had a core of pure steel that could not be broken. She thought he might even be stronger than Gibbs. He was able to take everything that life threw at him and still turn it to his advantage and come out of the experience a better person. Gibbs did not seem to have that ability. She had no doubt he was a good person, but he did not handle life as well as Tony. The loss of his first wife and daughter had crippled him and it had taken many years to get past that. It seemed Tony had been the one to draw him out of his grief and allow him to live again. Yet he still had his moments that threw him right back into that grief and made him unbearable to work with. Tony was the only one who could draw him back out and was also able to take the brunt of the abuse Gibbs could dish out to protect the rest of the team.

She realized that she had been sitting for some time and she was sore and hungry. She fixed herself a quick snack and then went to bed. She had an early day tomorrow and she found she didn't want to be late. As she lay in bed and contemplated the mystery that was Tony, she berated herself for being so blind. Her father, Ilan, and many others had warned her not to underestimate Tony DiNozzo, he was more than he seemed on the surface. She had thought herself to be a superior judge of his character and had dismissed their warnings as inconsequential. She had learned a hard lesson today, that she would not soon forget: Never, NEVER underestimate Tony DiNozzo!

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TBC

**Whew! That was a long one! Let me know what you think. More soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

******WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

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Gibbs paid the cabdriver and watched the car drive off before he turned and contemplated the dark, silent house. He saw no evidence that Tony was here or had been recently. He took a deep breath and picked up his duffle that was sitting on the ground by his feet.

_Suck it up, Marine._ He thought to himself as he finally made his way onto the porch and to his front door.

His hand shook a little as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. He left his duffle by the little table in the foyer as he closed the door. He stood for a minute taking the measure of the house. Nothing moved, there were no sounds. The air had a stale quality that he equated with an old person's home who never opened a window to air it out. There was a fine layer of dust on the foyer table. None of these things boded well for him.

He finally stepped into the living room and turned on the light switch inside the arch. The lamp by the window sprang to life to illuminate that the worst of his fears was now a reality. The room was stark and empty. The only things in it were the items that had been here before Tony had moved most of his things over. His lumpy couch, the end tables, coffee table and a few lamps were back in their original spots. Tony had brought over some tables and chairs and a few lamps when he had moved in.

Tony's TV, personal items, any furniture he had, were now all gone.

He moved further into the room and saw the empty bookcase under the window that he had made especially for Tony's DVDs. He felt a knot tightening in his chest as he recalled flinging Tony's movies around the room. He moved further into the kitchen, but he knew what he would find.

All of Tony's cooking pots, pans and utensils were gone. The only thing on the counter was his coffee maker with three months worth of dust on it. He turned to look at the spot on the floor where he had destroyed the cappuccino maker he had given to Tony last Christmas. He could make out a few scuffs on the hardwood floor. Probably from the metal pieces of the machine as he had smashed it. Not a piece of it was left. Not a cog or screw to be seen. Tony had swept every little bit of it up and away, as if it had never been there.

He opened cupboards that had once been full to overflowing with ingredients Tony used to cook the most wonderful meals for them, now empty of everything but a few cans of soup and bags of coffee.

The ache in his chest grew as he turned to take in the emptiness all around him. He had lived in this fashion for many years before Tony. Silently grieving his girls, and denying himself any comfort or cheer as penance for not being able to save them. Tony had taken that loneliness away and brought light and love back into his life. Everything seemed to have faded back to black and white again. Tony had taken the bright colors of the world with him when he left.

He may not have been thinking clearly, but just as he had done on the entire flight home, he kicked himself for not waiting at least until the morning before he had run away. Tony would have come home and they could have talked and maybe he would have remembered sooner. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Tony, either at the hospital or at NCIS. Ziva had snuck in to see him at the hospital and he had flashes then of her and a sense that she was like a daughter to him.

Mulling her over on the plane ride here, he now knew that was a false assumption. He remembered her hurting Tony on purpose (something about a dinner) and thinking she may have been up to no good. He remembered a brief flash of threatening her in a stairwell and a feeling of satisfaction when he saw the fear in her eyes. He had a lot to do with Tony leaving him, but he doubted Ziva had shared his contact info with anyone. She was probably thrilled he was gone and he was sure she had not made it easy for Tony.

He went back to the foyer to retrieve his duffle and take it upstairs. He knew what he would find up there, but the reality of it still hurt and caused the knot in his chest to grow even bigger. Everything of Tony was also gone from their bedroom and the master bath. He thought guiltily that Tony's bath products were probably unusable after his rampage and he had probably just tossed them out. He stood looking at his empty closet and knew the bureau drawers were just as devoid of Tony as the rest of the house was.

He made his way down the hall to Kelly's room and went in, to again sit on her bed, as he had that last day. He noted this room was also dusty, as was the bedspread that had been clean on that day and a final heart wrenching memory surfaced: Tony had been the one who had always kept this room clean!

He knew Gibbs would come in here to be closer to his girls, so he had made it comfortable for him. He would launder the linens once a week and then re-make the bed, putting her stuffed animals right back in their proper places. He dusted while the laundry was washing and made sure the room was aired out to keep it fresh. He would even wash Kelly's clothes and put them back into her closet and bureau once a month. He sat on the bed and finally let his tears fall.

This room was just as stale and lifeless as the rest of the house. It was just a house again, a place to keep his few things. It would never be a home without Tony in it, and Tony had taken every last trace of himself out if it. Every bit of color, life and love had gone from here when Tony departed. His tears came harder as the crushing loneliness clamped down on him. He lay down on the bed and curled into a ball, crying himself to sleep.

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Ziva awoke the next morning to her phone alarm. This was not an alarm to wake her though, this alarm told her that Gibbs had come back to DC. Right after he had left, she had utilized her Mexican contacts to keep track of him and they had let her know he left on a flight to DC yesterday. She was a bit ticked off that they had taken so long to contact her, but she hoped she could get to him first to assess the situation.

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Gibbs woke up to find himself curled into a ball on his daughter's bed. He had not moved an inch after falling asleep. He sat up and stretched a bit to ease the stiffness his sleeping position had caused. The more aware he became, the more depressed he got.

Tony was gone and he may have lost him forever.

Disgusted with himself, he got up to shower and dress. It was a little after 4am, but he was up for the day now. The only times he had lingered in bed was when Tony was laying next to him. He recalled some of Tony's more creative ways of waking him and a small smile ghosted his lips.

He would get him back, failure was not an option!

He took his clothes from his duffle bag and threw them into the washer. He didn't have anything for breakfast to eat, but at least he could have coffee. He was rinsing out the coffee carafe when he heard his front door open.

_Was Tony here?! _His heart sped up a little at the thought, but he discounted that possibility when he recognized a very light footfall. _A woman, but which one?_

"Gibbs?" _Ziva! She must have been watching for when he came back. _He turned to face her with a smile on his face.

"Ziver! Good to see you," He held out his arms to embrace her and she walked hesitantly into his embrace.

"How are you feeling? I did not think you would ever come back." She asked him after stepping back.

"Better. A few things are pretty fuzzy, but I've accepted that some things are never going to come back." He answered her as he leaned back against the counter. He was acutely aware that he only had his belt knife as a weapon as he noticed her calculating his answer. He set the carafe on the counter right next to his hand in case he would need it in a pinch. He waited to see what would happen.

He watched her analyzing his answer while he wore that same benign half-smile and stood in as non-threatening a way as possible. _Damn! Why hadn't he gotten his back-up piece out of the safe?_ He saw her relax her stance a little and realized she had bought his answer. _Glad, Tony's not the only one good at undercover. _He thought to himself.

"That must be frustrating for you." She said as she moved to sit at the kitchen table.

"Nothing I can do about it." He replied. "Want coffee?" He asked her while holding up the carafe again.

"Yes, please. That would be lovely." She answered while sitting primly at the table with her hands crossed on the table in front of her.

He forced the tension out of his shoulders as he turned back to the sink to finish washing the carafe. It was very difficult to turn his back on her, he expected a knife between his shoulder blades any minute, but he had to do this if he wanted to catch her off-guard and get information out of her.

Ziva took in her surroundings when Gibbs turned around again to make the coffee. She was very happy to see no trace of Tony and no indication that Gibbs was missing him. It looked like Tony was one of those pieces that may never come back. _Perhaps my mission is not as blown as I thought it was. _she thought, smugly.

Gibbs had also washed a mug for her and turned back around to set it on the table in front of her. She quickly schooled her expression to not show the internal glee she was feeling. Watching the slow, methodical movements Gibbs made, she was confident it would be no problem manipulating him to do her bidding.

Gibbs finished washing the carafe and started the machine to brew the coffee, while listening for anything threatening coming from Ziva. It appeared she was only looking around. She was probably trying to assess if Tony was still in his life, so she would be fishing to see what he remembered. He would have to very careful with what he said and did. He found a dusty mug in the cupboard and rinsed it for her use. As he turned to place the mug in front of her, he caught a smug, calculating look on her face which she quickly hid.

_Hmm…_He recalled Tony telling him that villains in movies always liked to brag and usually tipped their hand. He decided to take a page out of Tony's book and let Ziva underestimate him to see what he could find out. He slowed down his actions and was very deliberate in setting out the sugar cubes and the powdered creamer he found in the cupboard. He remembered he had bought the creamer for Tony, but he preferred the liquid creamer so he rarely touched it.

He wanted Ziva to think he was not up to par. He knew she would take advantage of any weakness she perceived in him. He turned back to get his mug and the freshly brewed coffee before sitting down across from her at the table. _Here we go…_he thought.

"Have you spoken to anyone else on the team since you've been back?" she asked in an innocent tone.

_Meaning: Have you talked to Tony yet?_ he thought as he took a sip of coffee.

"No. You're the first. How is everyone?" He asked with a mildly curious look on his face.

_Time to start laying the foundation _she thought.

"Well, I guess everyone is alright. Some people have changed quite a bit though." She said demurely as she looked down at her mug.

"How so?" He asked, looking puzzled.

"Well, I don't know if I should say…"

"Ziva, if something happened, I trust you to tell me!" _Yeah, I trust you to throw your co-workers under the bus! _he thought.

"Well, I cannot say exactly what has happened, but from what I have seen and what I have heard, I believe Tony and the Director have a more, _intimate_ relationship than may be appropriate." she reluctantly said,

_What! _"What!" he exclaimed while setting his cup down forcefully on the table.

"I have not seen any overt displays between them, but they are definitely more familiar with each other than before you left." she insinuated.

"I would not bring this up normally, (_Yeah, right! _He thought.) but this new relationship between them has affected the team." she added.

"How?" he asked her while effectively conveying disapproval of this new development.

_I have him! _she thought.

_Gotcha! _he thought.

"Tony has been almost unbearable to work with. He has been throwing his weight around and letting everyone know who is boss now! Every time Tim or myself have pointed out that his position is only temporary until you come back, he would get angry and force us to do extra work that he should be completing! He has now started to hint that he would like a new team and that we may find ourselves reassigned soon and he had the ear of the one who would make it happen!" she let a little of her actual anger seep into this to give it a little authenticity.

_Hmm.. Knowing Tony, I seriously doubt that unless you two have really screwed up! _he thought. He then let his anger at her attempt at manipulating him color his response.

"He threatened you!" he roared. "How long has this been going on?" he slapped his right hand on the table, causing her to jump. He almost smirked at that, but managed to hold it in.

"Nearly since the day you left, but the last few weeks have been much worse." she told him, with seeming reluctance.

_This will be easier than I thought!_ she crowed to herself.

_Now for the big finale_. He thought as he stood and deliberately threw his coffee mug against the wall behind her. He felt a deep satisfaction as she flinched and lost some color at the level of his rage. _It's good I finished the coffee_! He thought as the mug shattered on impact. He then ran his fingers angrily through his hair as he started pacing on his side of the table.

"What about Rule 12?! They BOTH know that's unethical! I'll have both their jobs for messing with _my _team!" he ranted as he paced back and forth.

"What about in the field?" he stopped pacing and gave her a penetrating gaze. "Has he left you without back-up?" "Is the Director interfering with the cases?"

_Oh, this is better than I could have hoped for! _she thought gleefully.

"Well, he really doesn't go out with us anymore. He spends a lot of his time with the Director in her office." she said meekly as she lowered her eyes.

_Oh God, what a load of crap! _he thought. _She wouldn't be bad undercover if she could learn not to telegraph her emotions. Don't look so happy about my anger! Boy, she's really bad at this spy thing!_

"I WILL take care of this Ziva!" he said as he leaned down on the table to look her in the eye. "It may take a few days though, can you make sure you and Tim stay safe until this is straightened out?" he asked.

"That should not be a problem. Tony convinced the Director to have Tim and I go back over all the cases we have worked since you have left while he takes some time off. We are not in the field until those are done." she answered him wearily.

"WHAT!" _Boy, you two must have really screwed up!_ "What a waste of time!" his anger seemed to ratchet up a notch.

"As a matter of fact, I must go now." she said as she checked her watch and stood up. "Both Tim and I have been docked a week's pay for being a few minutes late and I don't want to lose anything else!" she added to further enrage him. It had the desired effect.

He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself as he walked her to the door.

He placed his hand on her arm and leaned down to kiss her temple before she left.

"I'm going to fix this as soon as I can, you hang in there until I do."

"But, Gibbs, how can you fix this if the Director is involved?" she asked in an innocent tone.

He almost gagged at the sweetness she was projecting.

"I have a lot of friends, Ziva. Just because I don't play the politics game, doesn't mean I don't know how to!" he replied with an evil smirk.

She smiled back and reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

"I'm so happy you're back, Gibbs!" she said.

"Me too." he replied. "Keep that fact to yourself though, I want to surprise them." he added.

"Of course." she smirked.

He closed and locked the door behind her and watched her get into her car and drive away.

_Oh Yes, my dear, _he thought, _you thought Tony and Jenny were bad - wait until I get done with you!_

Having a clear purpose and destination, Gibbs grabbed his keys and left wearing a smile that Ziva would have been very afraid to see.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tony DiNozzo stepped out of his shower and contemplated the day ahead while he shaved. He was thinking about going to a museum or just taking a drive. It was nice to not have anyone wanting a piece of him or being expected somewhere every minute of every day. He felt the tension easing from his shoulders the longer he was away from work.

He had been considering doing a runner these last few weeks as the pressure had built and built, but Jenny's intervention and then Abby, Ducky and Jimmy's support convinced him to stay. He rinsed his face and then patted it down with a towel. He brushed his teeth and then tried to artfully spike his hair. It had been a while since he had taken the time to do this, so it seemed to take forever. When he was finally satisfied with it, he splashed on some aftershave and then went into his bedroom to dress.

He chose a pair of very comfortable jeans (that just happened to hug his ass nicely!) and some Nike's. He finished off his ensemble with a forest green shirt that he had been told really brought out his eyes. He sat back down on his bed as he remembered that the person who had told him that had been Gibbs. A spike of longing went through him as he recalled the sparkle in Jethro's eyes when he had told him that. That comment had led to Jethro taking the shirt back off of him and then the rest of his clothes before showing him exactly what he thought of his green eyes. He shivered at the memory and let out a deep sigh. He was going to call Abby later and see if she could track down Jethro. Whether they were over or not, they had to talk.

He got up and made his way to the kitchen for some more coffee. He smiled to himself as he thought of Abby and waking up on the couch with her a few hours earlier. They had both been stiff from their sleeping positions and a little wrung out after their talk the night before. Even though it was only after 4am, he had made breakfast for them both and she had left to go home so she could get ready for work. He had changed to running clothes before they left the apartment and he had walked her down to her car. She had given him another big hug and had whispered in his ear: _"Don't worry Tony-boy, everything is going to be alright." _He had kissed her cheek and whispered back: _"I sure hope so, Abs." _before letting her go and watching her drive away with a faint smile on his face.

He had gone on a nearly hour-long run as his mind re-hashed the last three and a half months and then his relationship with Gibbs. He was still hurt, but his investigative mind took over and he started to look outside the box for an answer. He knew from experience that things were seldom as they appeared and sometimes were so out in left field, even he hadn't seen it coming.

He had felt a little better after his run and it put a smile on his face again, even if it was a small one. He grabbed his badge and gun and keys and opened his door to leave, still wearing that smile. It froze and then disappeared all together as he saw who was on the other side of his door with his hand still up, poised to knock.

Gibbs.

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Gibbs had driven almost half way to Tony's apartment before he started to wonder just how _had_ he been able to do that? His truck started right up and appeared to be in good working order. He had been gone over three and a half months, it should at least have a dead battery! Unless….

Unless someone had come over and at least run it regularly to keep it going. The only person who would have done that was Tony.

Besides the fact that he was the only other person he trusted to drive his truck, Tony was the only person he knew thoughtful enough to take care of that.

He then started thinking about the outside of his house and realized it was neat and well tended. Tony had either hired someone to do it, or most likely done it himself when he came over to run the truck. He remembered being surprised at how much Tony enjoyed cutting grass and yard work until he had told him that some of his best summer memories as a child were working with the lawn crew his father employed on their estate. They had not minded the lonely child helping them out and showed him how to work nearly every lawn care machine they had. They found out in the process, that he had a green thumb and an eye for design when planting.

The realization that Tony still cared enough to take care of the yard work and his truck, gave him hope that they could still work it out. All he had to do was open his mouth and explain what happened. He knew Tony was a fair and very forgiving man, he hoped that extended to Gibbs when he was being a dumbass. He drove a little faster in his haste to make things right between them.

He arrived at Tony's apartment to see Abby's car parked next to Tony's Mustang in the lot. He drove around to the back of the lot, where his truck blended in, and settled down to wait. He would go up after Abby left. He wanted to have a private conversation with Tony.

He didn't have long to wait. About 10 minutes later they both came out of the complex and Tony walked her to her car. He frowned as he noticed Tony had lost at least 15 pounds, maybe 20. He looked tired and a little haunted. He again kicked himself as he realized his leaving probably had a lot to do with Tony's current health.

He smiled as he saw Abby hugging him and that it brought a faint smile to Tony's face. _That's my girl! _he thought as he watched them. They briefly spoke before Abby got in her car and left. Tony watched her drive away and then took off for a morning run. Thankfully, in the opposite direction from where Gibbs sat in his truck. It was still not fully light out, but he had no doubt Tony would have recognized the truck if he had come this way. He mentally reviewed the routes Tony would take, since he used to run with him, and again decided to sit back and wait.

It was nearly an hour later when he returned and Gibbs was just on the verge of taking off to make sure he was okay when he saw him walking back up to the building. He looked winded, but otherwise perfectly fine. Gibbs took a deep breath to ease the worry that he had worked himself into, and then sat looking at the door Tony had just gone through.

This was the moment.

What was he waiting for?

_What if he hates me now? What if he's decided he's better off without me? What if he's decided I'm not worth the trouble anymore?_

These questions chased themselves around in his brain as he sat staring at the apartment complex door Tony had entered through. He went over the same questions over and over again until he realized nearly 40 minutes had gone by. Tony would be done with his shower and breakfast and might leave any minute. If he didn't suck it up, he would lose this chance. He took another deep breath and finally got out of the truck and made his way inside.

He walked down the hall to Tony's door and stood there for a few minutes getting up the courage to knock. He had just raised his hand to knock, when the door was opened and there he stood.

Tony.

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Tim had been up since about 4am after giving up on sleep. His dreams were disturbing and extremely unsettling. His sub-conscience had held a mirror up to his actions, and he was ashamed at what he saw. This last time he had struggled awake, he saw a vision of Tony's face with a look of deep hurt as he and Ziva mocked him as they stood by his desk. He had hoped that image was just a figment of his tortured psyche, but after fully waking up, he had remembered the scene in his mind was real.

This had been not long after Gibbs had left and Tony had asked Tim to look deeper into the Renny Grant case just to be sure. Tim had snapped back at Tony, telling him that he had done his job and Tony should just take care of his own work. Ziva had joined in berating him and they had both closed in on him as he sat as his desk. He remembered seeing the hurt look on Tony's face as he had looked back and forth between them and he knew he had been happy about scoring a direct hit and causing him pain.

As he sat in his tangled sheets in the middle of his bed, he scrubbed his hands over his face. How could he have done something like that? Especially considering Tony's response to his insult. As his mind woke up more, he remembered he also had questions about the Renny Grant case after looking it over yesterday. He jumped out of bed and booted up his laptop while sitting on his couch. That look on Tony's face would always stay with him, but maybe he could do something about Renny Grant.

A few hours later he sat back on his couch and stared at his computer.

He had looked further at the money trail and the timelines, and he now had positive proof Renny Grant was not the embezzler. He had been in Iraq when someone had moved the money from a terminal right in the Pentagon. The access logs that he had used to as proof of Renny's guilt had been faked to falsely point to him. He felt sick to his stomach as he realized the implications of his sloppy work. He might have cost an innocent man years of his life and the ruination of his career and reputation. All because he thought he was better than Tony and shouldn't have to listen to him!

"Damn it!" he yelled as he pounded his fist into the couch.

He saved everything to a thumb drive and put everything he had printed out together in a file and put it all into his backpack. He rushed into his bathroom to shower and then dress. He was going to wait until Tony came back to talk to him about this case, but he couldn't wait anymore.

Renny couldn't wait anymore.

He grabbed a breakfast bar as he rushed out of his apartment 10 minutes later. He was going to fix this today. He hoped he could get Renny released before the end of the day.

Twenty minutes later he practically ran out of the elevator into the Bullpen. It was still pretty early and he only saw a few other people there in other areas. He booted up his desk computer and then checked a few things he only could from the secure NCIS server.

"Got them!" he exclaimed out loud about 40 minutes later.

"Got what, McGee?" Agent Balboa asked him from Tony's desk. McGee had been so into his searches that he had not noticed Balboa settling at Tony's desk or Franklin now sitting at Gibbs' desk.

McGee looked up, surprised that he was no longer alone.

"Sir! I'm glad you're here! I came across a big mistake in a file yesterday and we have to fix this right away!" he said excitedly as he jumped up and took everything over to Balboa.

"Whoa, McGee! Slow down, what mistake?" Balboa asked him as Franklin leaned back in his chair to listen in. Ziva was not there yet, so McGee was their sole focus right now.

McGee took a deep breath and laid out everything he had found about Renny Grant's innocence and just who might be responsible for framing him and actually taking the money. Franklin had gotten up to look over the info as McGee was relating the story.

"I agree this needs to be corrected today, but I find it hard to believe this got past Tony." he remarked while looking over some files.

McGee put his head down saying, "It didn't, that was my fault too."

Both Balboa and Franklin looked up from what they were reading and focused on McGee.

"Explain!" Balboa ordered, giving McGee a hard look.

"Um, Tony asked me to go over what I had found in the access logs to make sure we didn't miss anything, and I got really snotty with him." Balboa and Franklin exchanged a disgusted look as McGee continued. "I basically told him he didn't know what he was talking about and it was not my work that he had to worry about, it was his own." he finished in a small voice.

"What was his response to that?" Franklin demanded.

_This was the worst part_, thought McGee.

"He, ah, he said that I was right and that he should not have questioned me. He told me he was sorry, and that he trusted me to do the best job." this last part was said in a very quiet voice with McGee's eyes firmly on the floor.

The silence stretched out as McGee continued to study the floor. Balboa was looking at Franklin and they both had the same thought running through their heads - _This just keeps getting better!_

"McGee!" Balboa barked out, making Tim jump as his head snapped up.

"Y-yes Sir?"

"Grab everything you have and follow me!" Balboa instructed him as he strode off towards his area of the Bullpen.

McGee quickly gathered up his findings and rushed off after Balboa.

Franklin shook his head in disbelief as he sat back down at Gibbs' desk. He went back to his work after noting David had another 15 minutes before she was late and in even more trouble than she already was.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Gibbs lowered his arm and was disappointed to see the small smile on Tony's face disappear as he realized who it was standing at his door. Tony's eyes searched Gibbs' face as they stood looking at each other.

Tony noted that Gibbs looked even leaner and a lot tanner. He also noted that Gibbs had let his hair grow, but his face was still clean-shaven. He thought the longer hair looked good on him, made him look younger, despite the color. He also noticed the color was a little lighter and he wondered if silver hair on other parts of his body had lightened too. He snapped himself out of those thoughts and cleared his throat.

"Gibbs, what can I do for you?" he asked in a neutral tone.

Gibbs had been drinking in the sight of Tony. Despite the weight-loss, he looked pretty fit, up close. He was wearing those sexy, tight jeans on those long legs and that shirt that highlighted his beautiful eyes. He recalled the last time Tony had worn that shirt, they hadn't gotten out of bed for nearly a day. He and Tony had done the most delicious things to each other…he was relishing the memory of those long legs wrapped around him when his train of thought was interrupted as he realized Tony was speaking to him.

Looking again at Tony's face, he saw a questioning, and slightly amused look on it.

"What?" he stupidly asked, mentally berating himself for not paying attention.

He noticed Tony's mouth quirk in a slight smile as he repeated himself.

"I asked, what can I do for you Gibbs?"

"Ah, could I talk to you? I really need to talk to you." he nervously asked.

Tony searched his face again, although he was clearly surprised by the answer Gibbs gave. He stepped back to allow the door to open wider and replied, "Okay, come in."

Gibbs hurried inside before Tony changed his mind, noting as he passed by the gorgeous man, how good he smelled. That set off another memory of him tasting every inch of Tony's body and recalling just how good he tasted. He clamped down on those thoughts as he moved into Tony's living room.

_Not now! _he told himself. _Maybe later we could…STOP IT!_ he yelled at himself. His breathing had sped up thinking about a naked Tony and he needed to be in control of himself if he was going to fix this and take care of the threat Ziva posed.

Ziva.

That served to straighten him out quickly. They had a big problem with her and they needed to act fast, but first he would try to fix them, if he could.

Tony had his own stroll down memory lane as Gibbs passed by him when he came inside. He got a whiff of sawdust, Old Spice and something that was just _Gibbs._ He shuddered as he recalled breathing in that scent as he made himself at home between Gibbs' legs…licking downward from his stomach to…He stopped that train of thought as he closed and again bolted his door. He took a deep breath to calm himself as he joined Gibbs in the living room. He noticed, with more than a little hope, that Gibbs seemed to be having just as hard a time reigning himself in.

"Sit down, do you want some coffee or water?" he asked the older man.

"Thanks." he replied as he sat on the couch. "Nothing to drink, I just need to talk to you." he saw that Tony was again surprised at his answer and he tamped down the disappointment he felt when Tony sat as far away from him on the couch as he could.

"So, talk." Tony replied after sitting down out of Gibbs' reach.

Gibbs turned slightly to face Tony.

"I'm sorry." he started as Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I can't imagine what you thought when you came home that night I left, but it's not what you think." he began.

"Oh, really?" Tony's eyes flashed dangerously and every rational, investigative thought he had just had that morning flew out the window.

"I don't know Gibbs, your intentions were pretty clear cut! If you wanted me gone, throwing out the food I liked was a nice touch, but that was a little extreme, even for you!" his voice had steadily risen as the hurt and ache resurfaced with a vengeance.

He launched himself off of the couch to pace in front of the coffee table.

"I mean, there's getting your point across and then there's overkill!" "A simple note with a _Get Out!_ would have worked just as well!" his pacing increased in intensity as he wound himself up.

"I knew you were a bastard when we got together, but stomping a gift to me into little pieces goes beyond the pale!" he was quickly losing his grip on his emotions as the scabbed over hurt was again ripped open to allow fresh pain in.

Gibbs jumped up and placed himself in Tony's path and reached to grab his arms while saying, "NO! No! That wasn't it, that's not what I meant…"

Tony stopped and wrenched himself back away from Gibbs' reach.

"NOT WHAT YOU MEANT?!" he yelled.

"Jesus Gibbs, I never thought you were one for symbolism, but your destruction of everything related to me PAINTED A PRETTY CLEAR, FUCKING PICTURE, DON'T YOU THINK?!" he had again moved towards Gibbs and was now shouting this last part directly into his face.

"Please, Tony."

This quiet plea and the anguished look on Gibbs' face was like a bucket of cold water thrown on him. He stepped back while he regained some composure and took a good look at Gibbs. Gibbs had made no further attempt to touch him, but he could tell he really wanted to. His hands, down by his sides, twitched occasionally and worried the fabric of his jeans between his fingers. He looked absolutely miserable and Tony thought he detected the sheen of tears in this eyes.

He took a few deep breaths to calm down some more and again took a seat on the couch. While still wary of his treatment by Gibbs, his rational mind was starting to reassert itself and a little voice was telling him there was more to this, let him explain.

"Okay, so talk." he said again.

Gibbs seemed immensely relieved Tony was giving him a chance and also took his seat, but sitting no closer to Tony than before.

"When I got home, I was really mad. I was angry at all the bureaucrats, at Jenny for not stepping in and at myself for not remembering sooner to stop it." he took a deep breath and was happy to see Tony nod slightly for him to continue.

"I was sitting on the couch and the loss of my girls was new again, it hurt so much." he whispered while dropping his head and closing his eyes.

"I started looking around and noticed all the changes in the house, but I didn't remember you brought them." he continued.

"All the changes made me angry all over again, but not at you!" he quickly added as he looked up and looked Tony straight in the eyes. "I still didn't remember what you meant to me, I thought I was responsible for all the changes." he explained.

Tony had a puzzled look on his face, but did not interrupt.

"I was mad at myself for moving on and enjoying myself after losing my girls." Jethro had tears coming down his face now, but he didn't seem to notice. An understanding dawned on Tony's face to be replaced by a sad, worried look as Jethro continued.

"I went through the house tearing up or destroying what I thought was me, enjoying life after losing my girls. I remember not believing I had changed so much! I thought I had sold out their memory." Jethro sniffed, but the tears still flowed down his face.

"I went in Kelly's room and I was pretty relieved that it had not changed. I sat in there and calmed myself down. I decided I didn't want any part of the _new_ me, with all the fancy suits and ties (Tony smirked at this) and made the decision to take off to Mexico. I'm still kicking myself for that decision." he said quietly.

"I avoided all thinking when I got there and threw myself into repairing Mike's hut full-time. The manual labor tired me out and I didn't have to face anything for quite a while. There's only so much you can do to a hut though, so when I ran out of steam my mind started working overtime."

Tony nodded at him, but still said nothing, so he continued.

"I remembered all the ex-wives, and Ducky and Jenny and Abby, and then you." At this point, Jethro dropped his head and started worrying the hem of his jeans again with his fingers. _This was the most important part, _he thought, _if he's going to forgive me, he has to know this part._

"I remembered a lot about you. I remembered your laugh, your voice, your smile and those eyes. I remembered feeling an instant attraction when you tackled me in Baltimore. I remembered when you came to work at NCIS and how we instantly clicked. I remembered enjoying going to work because I would get to see you and I remembered trying to hide my smiles when you made me laugh so the probies wouldn't think I had gone soft." Tony quirked his own, fond smile at this admission, but he still said nothing.

"I remembered cases and worrying about you and being so relieved when you were okay at the end of the day. I remembered thinking I was really falling in love with you, but not knowing if you could ever feel the same about me. I remembered that case with Sgt. Atlas where you were kidnapped and I was terrified I would never get to tell you how I really felt. I remembered taking you back to my place after we got you back safe and finally letting you know how I really felt." Even though Jethro's face was down, Tony caught the soft smile that crossed it as he replayed that memory in this mind.

"I remembered you moving in and how good it felt. I was so happy coming home to you. I remembered watching you sleep. I remembered making love in every room in the house. I remembered thinking I was one lucky bastard to have you." he softly said.

"Then I remembered what I had done and realized what you would think of it. I knew I had fucked up, badly. I remembered what you had told me about your childhood," Tony winced at this, "and I knew what I had done would destroy what we had built." Jethro's tears fell again as he contemplated all he may have lost.

"I remembered things you had told me, and I knew you had given me your heart, trusting I would be careful with it, and I had stomped all over it. I thought back to everything you had done for me and how you had healed me, and I knew you would probably never forgive me for what I did, knowingly or not." Jethro again, had that miserable look on his face, but Tony still said nothing.

"I remembered when I got back home, that you had taken care of Kelly's room for me. I realized that you had also taken care of my truck and all the yard work even after I was such a bastard to you, and I realized I didn't deserve you, but I still want you. I ache for you Tony. My life is devoid of all happiness without you in it. If you would even consider giving me a second chance, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I know I don't deserve it, but would you think about it?" he finished, while still staring down at his hands.

It was very quiet in the room for a few minutes. Jethro was out of words, he had to hope it had been enough. Tony had not yet said anything. The suspense was eating at him and he stole a quick look at Tony to see if he could gauge his reaction. Tony was staring off into space, with a blank look on his face. Jethro's heart sank. Not the reaction he was hoping for. He began to try and wrap his mind around an empty life without Tony, when Tony cleared his throat and focused back on him.

His heart picked up speed as he awaited the verdict on whether he would be granted yet another chance at happiness.

"Wow. That was not anything I expected." Tony began. "When I went running this morning I actually thought about some bizarre reasoning you might have had to do what you did, but I never came close to this."

Jethro's heart started breaking again. Tony didn't believe him. He again lowered his head, he couldn't bear to look on that beautiful face that would never be his again.

"You know, my life these past three and a half months has been pure hell." Tony stated, conversationally. "You're ringing endorsement of _You'll Do_, fell flat in the peanut gallery." Jethro flinched upon hearing this, but he did not comment. "Not that Tim and Ziva ever respected me all that much, but it's hit an all time low." he said bitterly.

"However, with the Director's help and Abby, Ducky and Jimmy's support, we have tried to right the ship." he stated.

"How is that going?" Jethro ventured to ask.

"Huh" Tony snorted "It's going. I think Tim is sufficiently scared of me to be able to rebuild that relationship, but Ziva…" he sighed deeply "Ziva, even knowing my educational and professional background still has zero respect for me." he sadly finished.

"I think she and the MCRT will be parting ways sooner, rather than later. She can't get over herself and I can't shake the feeling she is up to something more." he said.

While Jethro was supremely grateful that Ziva had not fooled Tony, he was also unbelievably sad that he had helped contribute to Tony's difficulties and that what he had with Tony was over. His emotions must have shown on his face, because Tony asked him, "What are you thinking?" with an neutral look on his face.

" I was just hoping that we could still be friends…" he started sadly.

"You want to be - _friends_?" Tony asked him incredulously.

Jethro flinched at the tone of Tony's voice, but he pressed on.

"Well, I hoped…"he began again, only to stop abruptly as Tony slid over on the couch right next to him. Tony moved very close and said directly into Jethro's ear in a deep, husky voice, "You know what I hope?

He moved back to gauge Jethro's reaction and smiled when Jethro was only able to respond with a negative shake of his head.

"I hope," he said seductively as he kissed the tender spot below Jethro's ear, making him moan, "that we can be so, much more than friends." he finished by kissing a trail down Jethro's jaw line as he moved to straddle Jethro, settling down facing him in his lap and pressing his body as close to him as he could.

Jethro's arms came up around Tony's back and he pulled him down into a deep, passionate kiss. They both moaned into the kiss and they both felt like they were coming home. They finally came up for air with their foreheads resting on each other, panting deeply. Tony placed his hand on Jethro's chest and pushed himself back so he could look into Jethro's eyes.

"If you ever, EVER, do anything like that again to me, I promise you will never see me again. Are we clear?" he asked with a deadly serious look on his face.

He chuckled when Jethro swallowed and then nodded solemnly.

"Out of words, huh? I think you used up your quota for the next five years this morning! That's okay, you don't have to use words, you can just show me how you feel."

He broke out into that huge grin that Abby called the DiNozzo Dazzler when Jethro got a feral gleam in his eye and smirked as he pulled Tony close to him and then flipped them so Tony was laying on the couch with Jethro between those long legs.

Tony laughed out loud when he found himself spread out underneath Jethro in the blink of an eye.

"I guess hut repair has some advantages!" he remarked as he squeezed Jethro's ass through his jeans. "Mmmm, even firmer than before!" he purred.

Jethro moaned as he ground his erection against Tony's while nibbling on his neck causing the younger man to take a sharp inhalation of breath at the sensations.

"I have a few words left" he whispered into Tony's ear.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Tony replied breathlessly as he pushed back against Jethro.

"Like" _kiss_ "I" _nip_ "Love" _nibble_ "You!" _kiss_ Jethro teased him as he kissed his way down towards Tony's chest.

Tony moaned through this sexy little onslaught and squirmed beneath Jethro as his clothes became increasingly uncomfortable.

He had been running his fingers through Jethro's silvery strands and he used them to pull Jethro's face up to his for another deep kiss. Jethro moaned into the kiss as he became impossibly harder with that action.

Tony chuckled as he finished their kiss. "I forgot how much you enjoyed my directing things." he smiled fondly at the look of need on Jethro's face.

"I love you too" he seriously replied. "I guess we're going to have to work on keeping you away from anything explosive from now on, your mind does not react well." he sighed out as he resumed stroking Jethro's hair.

Jethro nuzzled into his touch and then replied, "Don't think I have another explosion in me." he kissed Tony again when he felt him tense under him at those words, until he was completely relaxed again. "I'll stay away from explosions, if you stay away from bullets as much as you can."

Tony snorted, "Yeah, right! In our jobs, that's like Ducky staying away from dead bodies!"

He laughed at the _Well, duh! _expression on Jethro's face. "Okay, Okay! I get it. We'll _both_ be more careful!" He ran his hands again down Jethro's body to cup his ass and squeeze a little, making a small growl come out of the other man as he ground their erections together again.

"Yeahhh…Back to more of that!" he said in a deep, husky voice. "I think we'd both have more fun though, if we were on the bed." he managed to get out.

He gasped as Jethro was immediately up and standing next to the couch. Jethro took a few seconds to take in Tony's debauched appearance: Hair sticking in up in all directions from his fingers running through it, lips slightly swollen from his kisses, shirt pushed up to reveal impressive abs, legs spread, an impressive erection straining at the zipper to his jeans, and the most delicious, dazed look in those beautiful, beautiful green eyes.

_And it's still all MINE! _he happily thought as he grabbed one of Tony's hands and hauled him up from the couch to stand close to him. Tony caught his breath at his sudden change in altitude and wrapped himself around Jethro's body to steady himself. Jethro wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly as he just reveled in being able to hold Tony again.

Tony pulled away after a few seconds to take one of Jethro's hands and pull him along behind him as he made his way to the bedroom.

"C'mon He-Man, we have some catching up to do!" he told him as he led them into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva was smiling to herself as she drove away from Gibbs' house. That had gone perfectly!

_Gibbs is so predictable, _she thought, _you just have to know which buttons to push!_

_Men were so easy to control. _she mused. _Except her father. _She thought sourly. He always seemed to know what she was doing and when she was lying to him. It didn't stop her from trying though. One day, she would find a way to get around him.

Gibbs, though - simple as cake! Play the daughter in distress, and he would move mountains to do her bidding and make it all better.

She chuckled to herself as she thought back on how many times she had used that against him. Granted, it hadn't worked as well after her 'team' dinner party, but it still worked to an extant.

It had never worked with DiNozzo, however.

Her brow furrowed as she contemplated that. The damsel act had never made him bite. Yes, she had maybe come on strong when they first met, but she had turned up the seductress act to control him, but it had never worked. She knew he was bi-sexual, so that couldn't be it. It certainly was not that he did not find her attractive, she knew he did. She had caught him looking at her enough times to recognize his lust. It could not be that he was seeing Gibbs at the time, she read his type perfectly - fidelity was not something he took seriously.

She had driven back to her apartment so she could take her early morning run. She locked her car and then took off on the paths in the park across from her building.

She mulled over the mystery that was DiNozzo as she wound her way through the park.

Even if he did not find her attractive (_Laughable! _she thought), his need to protect women should have been just as strong as Gibbs'. He was, however, a fierce protector of those who could not fight for themselves. Perhaps since he knew she had superior Mossad skills, he had never seen her as someone needing protection._ That had to be it!_ She cursed her superiority in Hebrew. Well, there was nothing to be done. Her confidence and skills were not something she could easily hide. She finally concluded that Gibbs must have seen the looks Tony sent her way and had jealously warned him off.

She chuckled as she slowed down to a walk as she came back to her apartment. _Yes, that was it. Gibbs had told his 'boy' that he was not to touch._

_Gibbs was certainly the Alpha in that relationship! Oh, yes - what relationship? _she smirked to herself as she entered the apartment to take a shower before getting breakfast.

After getting ready for work, she drove to a coffee shop near the Navy Yard that she preferred. She sat alone in a corner seat and had a leisurely breakfast before deciding to go in. It should be an interesting day. She wondered what Gibbs had planned for the Director and DiNozzo. She smiled to herself as she made her way into the building.

_Whatever it is, I will have a front row seat! _she thought gleefully.

She did not notice the strange look on the security guard's face as she went through the checkpoint smiling.

_Jeez! _He thought, _If that's her happy, I _really_ don't want to see her mad!_

He shuddered as she made her way past him and on into the building.

Ziva was surprised to not see McGee or Balboa when she got to her desk. It did look like they were in though.

"Where is McGee?" she asked Franklin, who was again camped at Gibbs' desk. _Not for long!_ she thought.

"None of your business David, Get To Work! You were a minute away from being late!" he barked at her.

"But, I was not." she said sweetly to him.

He was quickly out of his seat and leaning over her desk to get in her face.

"Are you giving me attitude, Officer David?" she leaned back in her chair to put some distance between them. Extreme hostility was rolling off him in waves.

"I would have thought you had learned to pick your battles, Officer David. Apparently, subtlety is still beyond you." Director Shepherd remarked while standing on the other side of her desk.

Ziva looked back and forth between Franklin and the Director and sat back in her chair with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. The Director and Franklin exchanged smirks at Ziva's discomfort.

"I suggest you get to work, Officer David, you do have a deadline and a lot to do!" The Director ordered her while giving her a hard look.

Ziva huffed her annoyance, but turned to her computer to start on her work, mumbling to herself in Hebrew.

Jenny and Franklin moved off to the stairwell where they could keep an eye on Ziva, but she could not hear them.

"Agent Balboa called me about the Renny Grant issue. I've already contacted his attorney and JAG, he'll be released this afternoon." the Director informed him.

"Wow, that was quick!" Franklin commented, "I thought it would at least take a few days."

"The timing was right, his case was not scheduled in court until next week." she replied. "If he had already been convicted, it would have been a lot harder. It's a good thing McGee caught his mistake, he could have cost that man several years of his life." the Director replied with a scowl on her face.

"Make sure Ziva stays on task. McGee will be with Balboa's team today after they bring in the three suspects in the embezzling case." Jenny advised him. "He needs to finish the case and write the report."

"Did Vince tell you about Tony questioning McGee on the case evidence?" Franklin asked her.

"Yes he did." the Director replied with a dark look on her face. "I'll be in my office drafting another reprimand for McGee if you need me." she informed him as she started up the stairs to her office.

"Yes, ma'am!" Franklin smirked as she ascended the stairs.

He then returned to Gibbs' desk, throwing a glare in Ziva's direction before sitting down. He chuckled as Ziva started muttering to herself again.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony took two handfuls of Jethro's shirt and pulled him in for another deep kiss after closing his bedroom door. Gibbs placed his hands on Tony's hips and pulled him even closer as he moaned into the kiss.

Tony walked Jethro backwards towards his bed while continuing their kiss. When Jethro's legs bumped up against the bed he finally released Jethro's kiss swollen lips and let him go. In one quick move, Tony pulled Jethro's shirt and undershirt off over his head and tossed it over on the chair in the corner. He whistled low as he ran his hands down over Jethro's bare chest.

He noted that the silver chest hair was indeed a lighter shade. He couldn't wait to check out the rest of his body hair! He also noticed that the muscles were sharply defined and his six pack was just as firm as his own. A predatory smile formed on his face as he ran his hands on all the exposed skin he could. Jethro trembled at Tony's touch, but he leaned into it to increase contact.

Tony chuckled low as he leaned in to speak directly in Jethro's ear, "Well, I see hut repair has done wonders for you. Let's see what it's done on that tight little ass of yours." he added while unbuckling Jethro's pants.

He unzipped them and casually brushed his fingers over Jethro's straining erection, causing a whimper to escape Jethro's lips. He then worked the fabric down until both his boxers and pants dropped to the floor to pool around Jethro's feet.

He stepped back to get a better view and his breath caught in his throat when he took in Jethro's straining erection, already leaking pre-cum and curved up and back towards his stomach. He ran his fingers lightly over the underside of that gorgeous cock he had missed so much, and smiled as it jumped at his touch. He moved around Jethro as he stood still, so he could get the full view. Tony lightly trailed his fingers on Jethro's thigh and hip just to tease him. It had its desired effect as Jethro's cock again jerked at his touch and Jethro inhaled sharply.

He moved around behind Jethro and took in the beauty of the man. His shoulders were broad and muscled and his back tapered down to a trim waist. Although strong, he had a lean, runner's body with an absolutely perfect ass. Tony moved up behind Jethro while running his hands over that gorgeous ass, causing Jethro to again tremble at his touch. He pressed his still-clothed body up against Jethro's naked one and encircled his body with his arms. Jethro moved back into the embrace and leaned his head back on Tony's shoulder.

One of Tony's hands caressed his stomach while the other was splayed over his chest. He was kissing up Jethro's neck and tweaking his nipples, causing electric shocks to shoot straight to his cock. Jethro didn't think he would last very long if he kept this up. He felt Tony move his head up and then heard his voice directly in his ear.

"Jethro, you naughty, naughty boy! You have no tan lines! Just how native did you go down in Mexico and should I be jealous?"

Jethro spun around in his embrace and Tony caught a brief sight of pupils dark with desire before Jethro dove in for another deep kiss while he started some groping of his own. Tony moaned into the kiss as Jethro's hands cupped his ass and he ground their erections together.

"You have nothing to be jealous of," he explained between kisses, "I just happen to like skinny dipping in the morning." Tony grinned into the kiss and replied, "Good to know." as he again resumed his sensual message of Jethro's ass.

Jethro suddenly backed up, breathing hard.

"Enough! Get naked and get on the bed, now!" he ordered.

Tony was naked in less than five seconds and laid himself out on the bed. Jethro drank in the view of Tony's glorious, naked body. The man was beautiful. Jethro was also happy to see that Tony was even harder than he was. He stretched out next to Tony and immediately took that beautiful cock into his mouth.

Tony gasped in surprise and pleasure as Jethro's tongue licked up the underside of his cock. He set up a steady rhythm that included Jethro plunging down to take his entire cock in his mouth, and then backing off to tease the slit with his tongue and lap up the copious amounts of pre-cum that was steadily leaking from the tip. Jethro loved the taste of Tony. There was nothing like it anywhere else in the world, and it only belonged to him.

Tony was writhing on the bed beneath him and trying not to push himself too far down. God, Jethro was really good at this! How had he gone so long without it?

Jethro looked up at Tony and smiled around the erection in his mouth. Tony's head was thrown back, eyes closed and he gripped the bedspread with one hand while the other was on the back of Jethro's head, urging him to continue. He pulled off of Tony's cock with a pop and Tony's eyes immediately flew open to see what the hell was going on.

Gibbs smirked at Tony's needy expression and said, "Lube?"

Tony blew out a frustrated breath and reached into his nightstand to grab a tube. He tossed it to Gibbs while spreading his legs.

"Hurry!" he said in an urgent voice and Jethro smirked wider.

He settled back between Tony's legs and popped the cap off of the tube. Spreading a liberal amount on his fingers, he started working Tony open. Tony moaned deeply and twitched on the bed as Jethro was able to get two fingers in and brushed his prostate.

Jethro chuckled as Tony again looked down at him with a 'hurry the hell up' expression on his face. Jethro also noted that Tony's pupils were so dark with desire, that no green could be seen. Jethro quickly worked him open with a third finger while placing butterfly kisses on his cock and thighs.

Tony was moaning continuously while trying to fuck himself on Jethro's fingers. Jethro quickly removed his fingers while Tony breathed "Finally!"

He coated his own cock with a generous amount of lube and positioned himself at Tony's entrance. He pushed in slowly, reveling in the tight heat that surrounded him and threatened to quickly push him over the edge.

He pushed steadily in until his balls were right up against Tony's ass. Tony moaned deeply and spread his legs a little wider as he wrapped them around Jethro. This allowed a little deeper penetration and tore moans from both men.

"God, I love this, I love you, I can't believe how much I need this." Tony gasped out.

Jethro leaned forward and captured Tony's lips in another kiss. "I love you too, baby. I am never going to let you go again!" he promised.

Tony squirmed beneath him and gasped out, "That's great to hear, but could you move your ass?!"

Jethro chuckled and started thrusting deeply in and out of Tony. Jethro was enthralled watching the pleasure take over Tony. His breathing was speeding up and he pushed back down to impale himself further on Jethro's cock. When Jethro started angling his thrusts a little differently and started hitting Tony's prostate with every thrust, he knew they would not last much longer. Jethro reached between them and started jerking Tony's cock in time with his thrusts.

Tony pushed up into his hand and down onto his cock and soon was screaming Jethro's name as he came, hard. Jethro pushed himself into Tony as far as he could go and with little thrusts came calling Tony's name.

They both blacked out briefly and when Jethro became aware again, he felt Tony's internal muscles milking every last drop out of him as Tony's body shook with little aftershocks.

He stayed right where he was, connected in the most intimate way to the man he loved. Tony was still out of it and Jethro watched as his body twitched through the aftershocks while lying spread out beneath him. When Tony's body stilled, he pulled back and unlocked Tony's long legs from around his waist. He kissed the inside of each thigh as he carefully pulled out and arranged Tony in a more comfortable position on the bed.

He sat back on his heels with his hands on his own thighs, just looking at the beautiful man spread out in front of him. He was definitely the luckiest son of a bitch in the world. Not only did this man love him, but he had forgiven him and let them have another chance. He would not waste this chance.

Jethro got up off the bed and went into the attached master bathroom to clean himself up. After finishing with himself, he took a washcloth out to gently clean all their combined juices off of Tony. Tony did not stir while Jethro cleaned him.

After finishing that, he climbed into the bed next to Tony and snagging the comforter from the bottom of the bed, he covered them both with it. Tony turned into Jethro's side and snuggled his face in the crook of his neck while throwing an arm and leg over Jethro, allowing him to snuggle even closer. Tony sighed deeply and snuffled a little before drifting into a deeper sleep. Jethro held him close and again thought how lucky he was.

He drifted off to sleep thinking he was finally home.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC

Well, what do you think? Let me know ;-)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!**

**Author's Note: I want to again thank everyone who has taken an interest in this story. Your reviews and comments mean so much to me. I am grateful to all those who have taken the time to review and I again apologize to the Guest reviewers. I am unable to respond to those comments, but I do appreciate them. Now back to the show…**

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Tony became aware of his surroundings with a strong feeling of contentment. He was in his warm, soft bed snuggled with Jethro. It didn't get better than that! He could hear Jethro's strong heartbeat under his ear and felt his deep even breathing as his head rested comfortably on Jethro's chest. He had one arm around Jethro's waist and one leg thrown over Jethro's right one so that his cock was nestled against Jethro's hip.

He cracked one eye open and saw from the clock on the nightstand that it was a little after 1pm, although the light in the room was dim. So, they had slept for awhile. He was okay with that, they both seemed to need it. His smile increased as he heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. He had always loved lazing around with Jethro on a rainy day.

He drew in a deep lungful of Jethro's scent and sighed as he exhaled. He didn't think he'd ever get a chance to do that again. He lay comfortably snuggled in his man's arms. Jethro had covered the hand Tony rested on his stomach with his own and Tony absently caressed Jethro's thumb while he went over recent events in his mind.

_What a difference a day makes. _He mused. _At this time yesterday, I was sitting in the director's office wondering if I still had a job after my '_team'_ had just walked out._

He had been amazed at the level of support he had gotten from the director and his fellow agents. He made a mental note to call Vince later to see how the kids were doing and what had happened with the case they had to take over. He scooted even closer to Jethro, he didn't want to think about that right now.

His mind then went back over all that had happened this morning, and all before 8am! He was blown away at the level of emotion Jethro had shown him. He knew he was capable, they had some pretty heavy discussions before he been blown up, but usually it had to be pulled out of him or it took days for him to work up to it. Not this time though.

Jethro seems to have gone through quite an epiphany in Mexico. Not that he was complaining though. He loved the new verbose Gibbs. _Even if it probably won't last._ He thought wryly. He didn't mind the skinny dipping either! That was a pleasant surprise. He'd have to find some way to indulge that particular kink of Gibbs'.

Hmm, Gibbs did have a pretty private backyard. Maybe we could put in a pool…

Thoughts of a naked Gibbs jumping off a diving board had Tony licking his lips and squirming a little to rub his growing erection against Jethro's hip.

_Then he could walk around naked with the net and I could lay on the chaise with my sunglasses on and he could be the pool boy or I could be the pool boy… _Tony huffed out a frustrated puff of air against Jethro's chest as these fantasies danced around in his head.

_Ok, that's it! _He thought while pulling the comforter down so he could see a lovely, naked Jethro.

Tony leaned up on one arm so he could get a better look. Jethro still appeared to be sleeping soundly. His beautiful cock was laying quietly in it's nest of silver curls. Tony reached down and wrapped his hand around it, moving slowly up and down. He then looked up to watch Jethro's reaction. As his cock hardened, Jethro moaned in his sleep and spread his legs a little more. Tony looked lovingly at Jethro's face. He always looked so young in his sleep! It always humbled him that Jethro trusted him enough to allow Tony to see him in such a vulnerable state. He knew Tony always had his six.

Tony moved down the bed and took Jethro's now fully erect cock into his mouth. He really loved this. The feel of his velvety shaft, inhaling the scent of Gibbs, the glorious taste of him, just perfect. He could not get enough of Jethro.

_Now the best part! _He thought as he smiled around the weighty shaft in his mouth. Jethro was waking up and making those sexy little sounds he always did when Tony was worshipping his cock with his mouth. Tony's own cock swelled listening to the moans, gasps and whimpers coming from higher up in the bed.

He heard another rumble of thunder as he felt Jethro running a hand through his hair while he continued his oral assault. He didn't know how long he kept up his ministrations before he felt the hand in his hair grip his head tighter and a strangled "Tony" come from above him.

He immediately relaxed his throat and plunged down on Jethro's shaft, deep throating him. This had the desired effect and Jethro stiffened as he started to come down Tony's throat. Tony backed off during Jethro's orgasm and only held the head of his cock in his mouth, teasing the slit with his tongue and gently milking his balls as he rode it out, drinking every last drop.

He held Jethro's cock gently in his mouth through the aftershocks and then reluctantly allowed it to slip from his lips when it had softened. He moved up to look down on Jethro and smirked at the sight below him: Jethro's hair was askew from thrashing his head back and forth on the pillow, his face was flushed and his nipples were standing at attention from the orgasm. He also looked extremely relaxed and contented.

Tony leaned down and claimed Jethro's mouth with a sweet kiss, that morphed into something much more when Jethro's hands came up to run through his hair and caress the side of his face.

Tony's smirk was back when they broke the kiss.

"Good morning, or should I say afternoon?" His eyes danced with mischief as he thought how good it was to drive Jethro crazy, and he wasn't done yet.

"You can wake me like that anytime you want!" Jethro managed to pant out.

Tony chuckled as he reached over to the nightstand to retrieve the tube of lube Jethro must have placed there before they went to sleep.

"Oh, I'm not finished waking you up yet! What did you think I was going to do with this?" He asked while placing Jethro's hand on Tony's straining erection. Jethro pumped his hand up and down a few times while Tony moaned.

"Well, I know what _I_ want you to do with it…" Jethro replied seductively while moving to spread his legs wider.

Tony's pupils dilated further with lust upon seeing that and he dove in for another deep kiss.

After breaking off the kiss he opened the lube and coated his fingers as Jethro continued to stroke him lazily. He reluctantly removed Jethro's hand from his cock as he moved down the bed to prepare Jethro for him. He kissed Jethro's hip as his first finger entered Jethro's opening. He had expected the little jump as he breached Jethro's tight hole, he had always tensed up when Tony first stretched him, but neither of them expected the flash of lightening and crack of thunder that occurred at the same moment.

The light and noise had startled them both and they had both turned to look at the other for support. They both smiled and laughed out loud as the thunder continued to rumble away. The laughter effectively relaxed them both and Tony soon had three fingers inside of Jethro and he was moaning as he pushed himself down on Tony's fingers.

Tony pulled his fingers out and quickly lubed up his erection and moved into position between Jethro's legs. He lifted Jethro's legs up to hook over his shoulders and started pushing inside. Jethro moaned loudly to coincide with another loud boom of thunder as Tony pushed completely inside him.

He stilled when he was fully seated inside to allow him to adjust to his girth and just looked at Jethro. Jethro's eyes were glittering with desire and he was panting as he stared back at Tony. His lips were parted a little and he sensuously ran his tongue out to wet them. He let out a sexy moan and moved his head backwards as he closed his eyes. Tony didn't think he had ever seen anything so erotic before and then Jethro topped that move with one better.

He lifted his head again to look directly at Tony and then squeezed his internal muscles around Tony's cock as he breathily panted out, "_More"._

Tony gasped and he had to work very hard not to come on the spot, but he got the message.

He pulled almost completely out and then quickly slammed back all the way in. Jethro moaned out, _"Ohh…" _as he threw his arms out to both sides, surrendering himself. Tony knew what this meant: _I'm all yours, do whatever you want with me. _

Tony's passion kicked up several notches at this action and he started thrusting faster and as deep as he could. He had one hand on the bed for support and the other on the headboard to help him thrust in deeper. The storm outside was raging at full-tilt now and he heard the rain lashing the windows and the building shook with the thunder.

All of that was just background music to what was happening in his bed. He was entranced watching Jethro as he fucked him. Jethro was moving up and down on the bed with the force of Tony's thrusts and he was now moaning and gasping on every down thrust. Tony had found the magic spot and was hitting it every time.

His eyes shot open when Tony gasped out, "Touch yourself, Jethro."

He reached down and started to stroke himself in time to Tony's thrusts. He was again, fully hard and leaking pre-come onto his stomach. He kept his eyes locked on Tony's, but his lips were parted and he panted as Tony's thrusts were bringing him closer to completion. They both moaned loudly and then screamed as their orgasm hit just as another crescendo of thunder crashed down.

Tony gently eased himself out and collapsed on the bed next to Jethro, facing him. They were both panting and boneless. Jethro turned his head to the side to look at him with a supremely satisfied smile.

"I love you, Tony." He said as his breathing slowed.

"I love you, Jethro." Tony replied as he stroked Jethro's arm.

After a few minutes Tony was able to sit up enough to grab some tissues from the nightstand to clean them both off before he again pulled the comforter up over their cooling bodies. He lay down on his back and Jethro snuggled into his arms. Tony ran his fingers through Jethro's silky hair as they again drifted off to sleep to the sound of rain on the windows and rumbles of thunder. Both feeling very contented, they were safe inside.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

This time Jethro was the first to wake. He noted it was still steadily raining and rumbling thunder could still be heard. Tony had his arm around his shoulders, pinning Jethro to his side, as if he was afraid he would disappear while he slept. Jethro had an arm across Tony's stomach and Tony had his other arm laid over that one. His hand loosely around Jethro's elbow. Again, keeping track of him, even in sleep.

Jethro studied the sleeping profile of his love and again thanked whatever deity had granted him this second chance. Well, actually third chance now. He had almost messed this up beyond repair. He inhaled Tony's scent and tightened his arm around his stomach. This action caused Tony to stir in his sleep and after a few seconds he settled back with his face turned in Jethro's direction.

Jethro smiled softly as he memorized the features of a sleeping Tony. Hair spiked up in all directions, long lashes laying on his cheeks. A strong jaw line and those full, sensuous lips. He noted that the dark circles that faintly showed under his eyes this morning when he first saw him seemed to have disappeared. The hollow of his cheeks, however, was still present.

_He's not eating right._ He thought. _Time to remedy that!_

His own stomach gave a sympathetic growl as he worked to extract himself from Tony's embrace. Tony turned and pulled Jethro's pillow into his arms as he snuggled back down under the covers. Tony settled back into slumber with his brow furrowed slightly. His features evened out when Jethro leaned down and brushed a kiss on his cheek. Jethro smiled as he gathered his clothes and went into the master bathroom to clean up.

His mind wandered to everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours.

_What a difference a day makes! _He thought as he soaped himself up under the warm water. _This time yesterday I was on a flight from Mexico wondering if I could get my life back. _He couldn't believe how much had happened since he had woken up miserable in Kelly's room this morning.

_Was it only this morning?_ He shuddered with a sudden chill even though he was standing directly under the warm spray of water. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the cool tiles to support himself as he contemplated all that he could have lost. His legs almost gave way as a sharp spike of loneliness tore through him. He took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself as he leaned against the shower wall.

Flashes of their most recent lovemaking ran through his mind and his body warmed as he thought of Tony fucking him. He had never allowed another man that privilege before Tony. He had been a little hesitant the first time, but he had quickly discovered how much he loved being taken by Tony. The difference being, he trusted Tony completely, he would never hurt him or take him beyond what he could handle, just as he would do the same for Tony. _True love._ He smiled.

"Yep, no doubt about it, you are one lucky son of a bitch." He told himself as he straightened up and quickly finished his shower. He quickly shaved after swallowing over the lump in his throat after discovering Tony had not thrown out the few toiletries he had kept here. When he finished, he took a good look at himself in the mirror.

"You really dodged a bullet, chief." He told himself. "Don't fuck it up."

He nodded to his reflection as he finished dressing and went back out into the bedroom.

He sat on the bed and gently brushed Tony's hair away from his face. He decided to wake him, so Tony wouldn't wake up alone and wonder where he was. He leaned down and kissed the soft skin beneath Tony's ear and then proceeded to nibble on his earlobe.

Tony started to smile and then chuckle as Jethro continued his assault on his earlobe.

"I'm not sure I'm up for another round just yet, or are you just hungry?" He and Jethro started laughing as Jethro's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Well, I guess that answers that!" Tony laughed as he rolled onto his back and stretched. He put a pout on his face as he reached down and pulled on Jethro's shirt.

"You got dressed!" He said in a whiny voice. "I wanted to scrub your back, and maybe your backside!" He teased as he leaned up and pulled Jethro in for a deep kiss. They both laughed into the kiss as Tony's stomach decided to make itself known.

"Well, I haven't eaten since the plane yesterday, and I _know_ you've worked up an appetite, so c'mon loverboy, take a shower and I'll make you an omelet!" He patted Tony's cheek as he stood up to go make them some food.

Tony swatted Jethro's ass as he stood up to go to the kitchen.

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Tony barked out and threw a sloppy salute with a serious face.

Jethro turned back around and pointed at Tony on the bed. "Don't call me sir!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Tony retorted immediately with an impish smile on his face.

"You," He began as he stalked back to the bed and pounced on Tony, tickling his sides as Tony rolled back and forth on the bed laughing. "Have been spending much, too much time with Abby!" He finished as he ended up on top of Tony.

Jethro was smiling the biggest smile Tony could ever remember seeing and looked very happy and relaxed. Jethro was relishing the sound of Tony's laughter and basking in the blinding smile Tony had on his happy face. He gave Tony a quick kiss on his lips and again got up.

He smiled fondly down at Tony and held out a hand to pull him upright beside him. He wrapped his arms around Tony as Tony plastered his naked body to Jethro's clothed one. Tony moaned as Jethro kissed his neck and slid his hands down to cup Tony's firm ass.

"You are mine, Tony" Jethro growled into his neck.

"Yours, Jethro." Tony replied with a moan as Jethro kneaded his ass.

Jethro stepped back with a smirk and took Tony's hand in his and led him towards the en suite bathroom. Tony smiled seductively as Jethro pulled him into the bathroom and started the water running in the shower. He stepped back and drew Tony into his arms again for a deep, erotic kiss.

"Aren't you a little overdressed?" Tony purred as he ran his hands down Jethro's chest.

Jethro caught both his hands in his own and brought them up to his lips. He tenderly kissed both of Tony's hands and then quickly stepped away and headed out the door.

"Nope!" He replied with a smirk. "Get cleaned up, I'll start the food." he threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the bedroom.

"Oh, you are an evil man, Jethro Gibbs!" He shouted at his retreating back.

"Bastard!" Jethro sang back to him, winking as he moved out of sight heading for the kitchen.

Tony shook his head, smiling as he pulled some towels out of the linen closet. "Yeah, but you're _my_ bastard!" He said to himself with a happy sigh.

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Jethro heard Tony singing in the shower as he started pulling ingredients out for omelets. He also found some bacon and thick cut sourdough bread. He started the bacon cooking and started cutting up the onions and peppers to throw in the omelet.

As he listened to Tony's voice singing happily in the bathroom, he felt like dancing around the room himself. It hadn't been easy and Jethro felt like every emotion he had ever experienced in his life had been pulled out of him in the past 24 hours, but it was _so_ worth it!

He had his love back and he felt they were even stronger than before. He looked up as a particularly loud crack of thunder rumbled through the apartment. Tony must have heard it even in the shower, because the singing momentarily stopped. The intermission was brief though, and Jethro smirked as Tony's beautiful voice was again heard belting out Dean Martin.

Jethro walked over to the picture window and watched as the rain again intensified. He flipped on a few lights in the living room to combat the gloom of the day, even though it was only 3pm, it looked more like dusk. Jethro picked up the remote and flipped on a local station to check the weather and then returned to the kitchen when he found out the rain would last into tomorrow.

_Good! _He thought. _Plenty of opportunities for snuggling during the storms._

He smirked to himself as he thought how shocked the team would be if they had seen him navigating the TV so easily. Only Tony knew the technophobe act was just that, an act. Gibbs was quite proficient with electronic devices and even pretty good with computers. He recalled seeing a smirk on Tony's face at work as the rest of the team had again fallen for his act.

He was smiling as he turned the cooking bacon and mixed up the ingredients for the omelets.

About 10 minutes later, just as he was blotting the worst of the grease from the bacon and dishing up the omelets, Tony came walking into the kitchen wearing some sweatpants, a long-sleeved tee and barefoot. He had his phone up to his ear, checking a voicemail and he didn't notice the feral look Jethro got when he padded into the kitchen with no shoes.

Ever since they had gotten together, there was just something unbearably sexy about Tony barefoot. Maybe it reminded him of their first time together, but whatever it was, it always made him hot.

Tony, as yet oblivious to the reaction Jethro was having to his naked feet, stopped just inside the door to the kitchen and frowned down at his phone. He had two voicemails from today, one from Vince Balboa and the other from Jenny Shepherd. Both had not given any details, they had just asked him to call when he had a chance.

Jethro, sensing trouble, squashed his barefoot Tony fetish and put a serious look on his face.

"What's wrong Tony?" He asked while setting their plates of food and toast down on the table.

"Don't know." Tony replied in a distracted voice. "I got a call from Vince Balboa and one from the director, both asking me to call back when I had the chance."

"Do you want to call them before eating?" Jethro asked him as he moved to stand next to Tony in a show of support.

"No. Neither one sounded too urgent, and if it is involved, I want to have some food on my stomach so my brain will work." He replied while giving Jethro a quick kiss and sitting down at the table.

"Wow! This looks great!" he commented as he picked up his fork and dug in. "Oh, man! I forgot how good you were with breakfast!" He said with a mouthful of omelet.

"Gotta keep my man well fed, so he has the strength to keep up with me!" Jethro smirked as his own food disappeared from his plate.

Tony chuckled as he took a drink of the orange juice Jethro had set out for them.

"Don't worry old man, I think I can keep up!" Tony replied cheekily.

Jethro grinned evilly as he pointed his fork at Tony and said, "Oh, you are _so_ going to pay for that one!"

"That's what I'm counting on!" Tony replied with a huge smile.

Their afternoon breakfast was quickly consumed as they chatted about nonsensical things and flirted back and forth. They were both having too good a time just being in each others company. After the dishes and pans had been washed and put away, Tony retreated to the bedroom to make his calls after giving Jethro a quick kiss. Jethro, not having any feeling in his gut of impending doom, sat down in the living room to watch some TV until Tony was done.

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"_Agent Balboa."_

"Vince, it's Tony, what's up?"

"_Tony! How are you doing man, feeling better?"_

"Much, but I guess that all depends on why you're calling."

"_Do you remember the Renny Grant case from right after Agent Gibbs left?"_

"Oh, yes. I always had my doubts about that one, but McGee assured me the evidence was solid, why?"

"_Not so solid. McGee realized when he went back over the case yesterday that he dropped the ball. The access logs were faked to pin the rose on Grant. He wasn't even in the country when the money was taken from a terminal right at the Pentagon."_

"Damn it! Has the case come up yet? Can we fix it?"

"_No worries man, already done. We were lucky, the case was due up next week. He's already been released."_

"Son of a Bitch! I knew I should have looked closer at those logs, but stupid me trusted McGee to do his job."

"_Don't sweat it. It's not your fault you trusted your partner to have your back and do his job. If it makes you feel better, he's the one who got the proof together to exonerate Grant and found out who had set him up and stole the money"_

"It was his CO, wasn't it?

"_Yeah, him and two co-workers. Did you suspect him?"_

"I had a funny feeling about him, he kept telling me Renny didn't do it and he had this little smile on his face. Crap! I know better, I should have followed my gut!"

"_Don't beat yourself up over this Tony. Grant has been released and the director is working on making it right for him."_

"She called me too, is that what she wants?"

"_Probably, she probably has more details on what she's doing for Grant too."_

"Well, besides that, how are the kiddies?"

"_McGee straightened up right away and got down to business. I think he finished the first three weeks of reports before he left yesterday. He's been over in my area all day while we finished up the Grant case and wrapped up Petty Officer Bryans murder and he's been working on his reports in between work on that."_

"Good. I figured he would come around first, I'm glad it was so quick. I might have to extend his deadline on Sunday since he helped free an innocent man."

"_I wouldn't. He's determined to be done by the deadline on Sunday and I think he'll make it. The boy can type!"_

"That he can. So who was the perp in the Bryan case?"

"_You'll love this, the wife did it!"_

"No!"

"_Oh, yeah! Caught him cheating with her sister! We've put the sis in protective custody. The sisters hot-headed husband is at large with quite a few registered and un-registered weapons at his disposal. She thinks he'll kill her if he finds her. Too bad their two-year old son is caught in the middle."_

"Jeez, that's messed up. Is the kid safe with relatives?"

"_Yeah, Bryan had a kid sister who is married, they took him in, there was no one else. They seem like nice people. Maybe if he's lucky, he won't remember his fucked up parents."_

"Yeah. I better call the director. Call me if you need anything else and thanks, Vince."

"_You're quite welcome man. You're a great agent, you didn't deserve to get stuck with those two. I'm just glad we stopped them before you got hurt."_

"Thanks, me too. If nothing comes up, I'll see you this weekend."

"_Okay, bye Tony."_

"Bye Vince."

Tony sat looking at this phone and was just able to stop himself from throwing it at the wall.

_That smug little bastard! _Tony fumed. He well remembered the Renny Grant case. It was actually the first case they caught after Gibbs had deserted them. They had all been shell-shocked, but McGee had quickly made his displeasure known.

He had thought he was more qualified to be in charge, because he mistakenly believed he had more education and was just generally smarter than Tony. Tony, at that point, had still expected his team to be on their game and do the quality work they had always done for Gibbs.

It had taken another few weeks for Tony to realize that his team mates were only interested in doing the bare minimum and trying to make him look bad. He blamed that on Ziva's influence, Tim had never acted that way before she came. Tony had been in a very bad place at the time and was still stinging from what he perceived as Jethro's rejection. His low self esteem had been sniffed out by his team and they had taken full advantage of his state of mind. Being a master at self-recrimination, he had rationalized their actions by thinking he was responsible for causing them. If he had been a better leader, they would have snapped into line like they did for Gibbs. He now knew that never would have happened. The confrontation from yesterday had to happen to drive the point home.

Tony was doubly pissed that McGee's arrogance might have cost an innocent man years of his life and pretty much everything else. His reputation, his job, his home and maybe his family. This was unacceptable! Even though McGee had owned up to his mistake, the consequences were too high, something more needed to be done.

He thought about what needed to happen with McGee as he dialed the director's personal number.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

"_Director Shepherd speaking."_

"Hello director, it's Tony DiNozzo, you called me?"

"_Yes! Tony, how are you doing?"_

"Actually, much better, but can we discuss that later? What happened with Renny Grant?"

"_Ah, I see you've spoken to Agent Balboa."_

"Yes ma'am. I know he's been released, but he said you might have more information on what else we're doing for him?"

"_Yes I do. I've spoken with Sec Def and Mr. Grant will be re-instated with full clearance. He will also receive full pay for the entire time he was falsely accused and incarcerated along with a one-time punitive payment of $100,000 that has already been deposited in an account for him. I have spoken to him and McGee has given him a personal apology."_

"Yeah, speaking of McGee, something needs to be done about this. His unprofessionalism nearly ruined a man's life! I don't care that he said he was sorry, he's always sorry, he needs to be held accountable for this! Ma'am."

"_I absolutely agree, Tony. I have already informed him that he would be disciplined for this infraction, but that I would let him know exactly what would be after I spoke with his supervisor. Are you available tonight? I'd like to discuss this in person."_

"You read my mind, director. Would you like to stop by my apartment, say around 7? I'll cook and another situation has come up that we need to discuss in person."

"_Hmm, now you have me intrigued! 7pm it is, see you then Agent DiNozzo."_

"See you then director."

Tony disconnected the call and sat for a few minutes on the bed running several different scenarios in his mind. McGee thought he was scary yesterday, wait until he got through with him over this. A loud rumble of thunder shook the building and Tony thought the dreary day perfectly matched his current mood.

He threw his phone on the nightstand and went out to talk to Jethro, he needed some advice and they needed to figure a few things out.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jethro knew Tony had not received good news just from the way he walked out of the bedroom. His gait was stiff and it looked like he wanted to hit something. Jethro hoped he wasn't the one Tony was pissed at.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water before sitting next to Jethro on the couch. _Okay, that's a good sign, probably not pissed at me. _Jethro thought.

"Not sure I want to know, but what happened?" He asked while watching Tony's face.

Tony threw his head back and stared up at the ceiling as he sighed loudly.

"Damn know-it-all, arrogant McGee, that's what happened!" Was Tony's irritated reply.

"Yeah, that's something else I need to talk to you about." Gibbs started. "I had an early-morning visitor before I came over here to see you."

Tony rolled his head to the left and looked at him with a questioning gaze.

Gibbs took a deep breath and told Tony about his visit from Ziva and what she was trying to do. He saw Tony getting pissed when he relayed Ziva's version of events, but he stayed silent until Jethro was finished.

"Okay, you've heard the lies, you want to tell me what actually happened? Jethro asked him with an intense expression.

Tony huffed out a breath and then started filling Gibbs in on what had really been happening at work and what transpired yesterday. He saw Jethro get increasingly pissed at how McGee and David had acted, and then he saw pride and admiration on his face when he relayed what had happened at yesterday's meeting with the director.

He had no issue sharing the information of the meeting with Gibbs. He had been their superior and may yet be again, if either of them had jobs when the dust settled. Plus, Gibbs was hardly the gossipy type.

He then told Jethro all about the Renny Grant case and what its resolution was. Jethro reacted as Tony predicted he would: he did not take it well.

"Jesus, what the hell happened to McGee?!" He nearly shouted as he ran his hands frustratingly through his hair. "Now, I'm sorry he was ever on the team! I'm glad he got his head out of his ass, but he has to answer for this!" Jethro's eyes were flashing as he vented his anger.

Tony felt a jolt of arousal seeing the raw power of the man, but quickly tamped it down as he got back to the subject at hand.

"Oh, he will answer for it! That I promise you. The question is, how much?" Tony answered with a smirk.

"I was thinking suspension and demotion back to junior agent but it just doesn't seem to be enough." Tony mused.

"How about re-training?" Gibbs suggested.

"Hmm…yes. A full course at FLETC in chain of command and professional etiquette! That should get the point across." Tony said with a wry smile. "Who knows, he may actually learn something. Might help the next poor sap he has to serve under." Gibbs looked up to find Tony looking at him with a shrewd, sharp smile. Gibbs nodded his head once and Tony returned the gesture with a small smile. He then got up and gave Jethro a kiss before heading into the kitchen after noticing it was nearing 6pm.

"I have to rustle up some grub for dinner, Jenny is stopping by after work to finalize McGee's punishment. How do you feel about eggplant parmesan?" He asked as he disappeared into the kitchen to another rumble of thunder.

Gibbs blinked a few times before jumping up and following Tony into the kitchen.

"Jenny?" He questioned as he leaned on the doorjamb.

"Yup. She wanted to discuss it in person and I thought it would be a good time to let her know you're back in town." Tony replied as he moved around the kitchen gathering what he needed for dinner.

"Jenny?" He asked again with a questioning look at Tony.

"Oh, that." Tony chuckled. "That's a fairly new development, as in new as of yesterday. She told me to call her that as we were planning our united front against McGee and David. If it bothers you, I'll go back to director." He replied looking over at Jethro.

Jethro smiled that crooked smile that Tony loved so well and sauntered over to take him in his arms and kiss him deeply as Tony sighed.

"No. I don't mind. I just don't want her getting the wrong impression about you." He stated with a possessive glint in his eyes.

"Don't worry caveman, she knows I'm taken!" Tony reassured him as he patted his arm and continued gathering ingredients and cooking pans. "She already knows about us."

Jethro was again left frozen in place, blinking, as Tony's words sunk in.

"What!?" He loudly asked as he turned and pinned Tony with a laser glare.

Tony stopped dead and returned Jethro's gaze. "It wasn't me, she figured it out all by herself before you were even blown up." He replied with a slight smirk.

"Don't worry." He added as he returned to where Jethro was standing and wrapped his arms around him again. "She's fine with it as long as it stays out of the office." He felt Jethro relax in his arms upon hearing this.

"We talked a little yesterday and she was actually pretty supportive." He added while kissing Jethro again and disengaging to return to his dinner preparations.

"Could you go in the freezer and grab the round, blue container on the left?" He asked when Jethro just stood there in the middle of the kitchen. If he was going to be underfoot, he might as well help.

Jethro visibly shook himself and got the container out of the freezer as asked.

"Good. Now pop the lid and put some saran wrap over the top and put it in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stop and stir it after every minute" Tony then instructed.

Jethro moved automatically to carry out Tony's instructions. Tony smirked to himself as he watched Jethro carrying out his orders. _Once a Marine… _He thought as he went about preparing the eggplant.

"Mmm, smells good!" Jethro remarked a few minutes later. "You still freeze your own sauce."

"Yep, still Italian Jethro." Tony quipped as Jethro wrapped his arms around Tony from behind and watched his progress with the eggplant with his chin resting on Tony's shoulder.

"And a spicy Italian, you are." Jethro replied as he nuzzled Tony's neck.

Tony chuckled when the microwave beeped to announce it was finished and Jethro groaned and released Tony to go retrieve the container.

"Ok, now what?" Jethro asked as he placed the steaming container on the counter.

"Grab the shredded parmesan from the fridge and add about a 1/3 of it to the sauce and stir it in well. Then take half the sauce and layer it on the bottom of that baking pan on the counter." Tony instructed.

By this time Tony had finished slicing and breading the eggplant and was browning them in a fry pan coated with olive oil. After blotting the excess oil on a paper towel he layered the slices in the baking pan on top of the sauce. He then covered them with the remaining sauce and topped that with another third of the parmesan cheese. He put the pan in the oven and set it for 40 minutes on 350.

Jethro had been cleaning as he finished the dish and by the time the pan was in the oven, the kitchen was again in order.

Tony leaned back against the counter watching Jethro put away the last of what he had washed and marveled at how well they worked together. They were like a well-oiled machine.

Jethro turned around to find Tony smirking at him while leaning against the counter and asked him, "What?"

"Just thinking how good you would look all oiled up." Tony replied with a leer.

Jethro stalked over to him and pinned him to the counter with his body. Grinding his hips against Tony's to pull out the moan he knew that would illicit. He dove in and captured Tony's lips in a bruising kiss that curled Tony's toes.

Tony broke the kiss and panted, "We can't right now, no time, but wait until the director leaves!" He promised with a squeeze to Jethro's hardness that left the older man breathless.

Tony extricated himself from Jethro and called over his shoulder as he went down the hall, "Get the door will you, I need to change."

Jethro's lust-fogged brain managed to ask a confused, "What?' as the doorbell sounded and he heard Tony close the bedroom door with a chuckle.

Jethro took two deep breaths and adjusted himself to hide his erection as he walked to the door.

_How does he do that? _He wondered as he unlocked and pulled open the door.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd stood looking up at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression on her face.

"Hey Jen, C'mon in." He said with a smirk as he held the door open for her.

"Jethro. You are absolutely the last person I expected to see here. When did you get back?" She asked him as she entered and handed him her umbrella and raincoat.

He stowed these items away and led her into the dining room.

"Just last night." He neutrally replied as she sat at the table with her briefcase.

"So, you have reconciled with Tony, I see. I hope he didn't forgive you too easily." She told him with a stern look.

"No." He replied, sitting down across from her. "That was _not_ easy!" He said, uncomfortably.

"Good, I hope he made you grovel." She smirked at him and then her expression sobered. "You deserve to, after what you did." She pinned him with a pointed look and he actually squirmed in his seat.

"Yeah, groveling was involved." He reluctantly admitted, while running his hand over the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Sooo, everything is okay now?" She pressed.

"We're good, Jenny." Tony replied, rescuing Jethro as he quietly entered the room and moved to stand behind Jethro's chair. He squeezed Jethro's shoulder as Jethro let out a relieved breath.

Tony nodded his head slightly in a silent _thanks_ for her support as she studied him. She returned his nod after determining that everything was, indeed okay. Tony looked well-rested and more centered. Jethro was immediately calmed by Tony's touch. Their reunion was going well she thought as Tony took a seat closely next to Jethro.

_Good, they both deserve some happiness. _She thought to herself.

"Good to hear, gentlemen. I trust it will remain that way." She pointedly looked back and forth between the two men and they both nodded back at her, acknowledging the unspoken directive to keep it professional in the office.

She opened her briefcase and handed Tony a file.

"I thought you would want to read over the updated Renny Grant file. Agent Balboa and McGee wrapped it up just before I left. Full confessions from all three embezzlers who framed him." she said as she took out a notepad to make notes.

"Jethro, I assume you've been apprised of the situation?" she asked him.

"Yeah." He replied with a sour look on his face.

"I take it you are disappointed in Agent McGee's actions as well?" She continued.

"Disappointed doesn't cover it Jenny! What the HELL was he thinking?" Gibbs underlined his displeasure by slamming his hand on the table, looking extraordinarily pissed.

"Well, alrighty then! I think we're all on the same page." Tony quipped as he lay a comforting hand on Jethro's arm, while sending a telling look in Jenny's direction.

His look brought two messages to Jenny: One - _We are not at work, I will comfort my man in my own home! _and two - _I've got this, Jethro will listen to me._

Jenny was satisfied with both messages. Even before they had gotten together, these two were always connected. Tony understood Jethro's moods and motivations and was one of a _very_ select group who could read him. More importantly, he could control him. He was one of maybe four people in the world that Jethro listened to.

She turned to Tony and asked, "Have you given any thought to an appropriate sanction for Agent McGee?"

He nodded saying, "I have. I think at least a months suspension without pay and then some FLETC re-training when he comes back. Chain of command and professional etiquette should cover it. I have not thought beyond that." he finished.

"So, you haven't decided if you want him to remain on the team yet?" she asked him.

"I think, he may be on the right road again, but right now I am not sure. I certainly trust him more that I do Ziva, but that's not saying a whole lot." Tony replied.

"You don't think Ziva will be able to operate in this new working arrangement?" the director asked.

"Oh, she'll be able to operate. I'm just not sure whose side she'll be operating for." He relayed to her with a pointed look.

She took a deep breath and asked, "What's happened now? What did she do?"

"I think I'll let Special Agent Gibbs field that one." he smirked as he turned to Jethro.

The director turned her attention to Gibbs as he relayed his early morning visit from Ziva. Her eyes took on a hard glint as he recounted Ziva's assertions that she and Tony were in an _'inappropriate relationship' _and her distortion of the facts to her advantage. When he finished, the only sound in the room was the tick of the rain on the windows and the rumble of thunder.

After a few minutes of this, the director was the first to speak.

"She's done. I can't believe I allowed myself to be duped like that! Damn it!" she yelled as she threw her pen down on the table.

"Now, now director, I think we can use this to our advantage." Tony said.

"How so?" she asked with a calculating look on her face.

"Well, you and Gibbs and probably Ducky are experts at black ops, and if I do say so myself, I'm pretty good at undercover. I think we can think of something." Tony replied with a sly grin.

Jenny looked at Jethro and saw a proud, adoring look on his face as he took in Tony's words before he looked at her.

"What do ya say, Jen - one last op?" He asked her with that little half-smile.

"I think we can arrange that." she replied with a smirk of her own. "What did you gentlemen have in mind?"

They took turns outlining what they had in mind as they ate. By the end of the two hours Jenny had spent there, they had a solid plan in place that they would implement starting tomorrow. They had also decided to go ahead with the disciplinary actions Tony had suggested for McGee. They both walked her to the door as Tony helped her into her raincoat and Gibbs handed her the umbrella.

"That food was excellent, Tony! I didn't know you were such a good cook!" She praised him as Jethro looked proudly on.

"I'm Italian Jenny, I think we're _all _good cooks!" He teasingly replied.

"That's not all you're good at." Jethro commented.

Both Jenny and Tony turned to him with surprised expressions on their faces and he realized what he just said.

"Jeez! I was just talking about work!" he replies, annoyed that he is blushing.

They both burst out laughing and Jenny replies, "Sure you were Jethro." with a big smile.

Tony just smiles and shakes his head as he pulls Jethro to his side while opening the door for her. Jenny smiles at the picture of contentment they both make.

"I'm so happy it worked out for you both, you both deserve this happiness." she remarked as she stepped out into the hall.

"Thanks, Jen." Jethro replied as he pulled Tony closer to him.

"Thank you ma'am." Tony replies with a devilish smile as he allows himself to be drawn closer to Jethro.

"Goodnight, gentlemen." she says with a smile as she walks off down the hall.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

They both retreat inside the apartment and bolt the door after they have closed it. They stand very close facing each other and both just smile.

"I think I need you, right now." Tony says in a quiet voice.

"I think I can fill that need." Jethro replies as his eyes darken with desire.

"I don't think I can last very long." Tony warns as his own eyes darken.

"Wasn't planning on drawing it out." Jethro replies as he grabs one of Tony's hands and drags him back to the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind them.

Jethro pulls Tony into a tight embrace and kisses him deeply. Their lust is ignited as they grind against each other. They both break away from the kiss at the same time, panting hard at the lack of oxygen and the fire raging between them.

"Clothes!" they both say at the same time and they step back to quickly divest themselves of what they are wearing.

Once naked, they come together again in another soul-wrenching kiss that again leaves them both breathless and rock hard.

Jethro recovers first and turns Tony around and pushes him down so he is laying over the side of the bed with his feet still on the ground and his ass in the air. Jethro's eyes darken further as he takes in the sight before him. He runs his hands down Tony's hips and moves around to grab the lube from the nightstand. He quickly spreads the lube on his cock and then inserts three fingers into Tony to make sure he is still stretched.

Tony moans into the bedspread and pushes back against Jethro's fingers. Jethro removes them from his ass and quickly moves into position, thrusting his cock all the way inside Tony. Tony again moans at the action, but brings his hands up to brace himself on the bed so he can push back and impale himself further on Jethro's cock. This causes Jethro to emit a low groan and he leans forward to place a kiss on Tony's back.

He then stands up and gripping Tony's hips, starts to piston his thrusts in and out of Tony's gorgeous ass. They both moan continuously as Jethro's brisk pace brings them close to the edge. Jethro knew this wouldn't be a long session, but even he is surprised at the speed with which their orgasms overtake them.

Tony drops over the edge first, coming all over his stomach without either of them touching his cock. His internal muscles clenching on his own erection buried deep inside Tony is enough to set Jethro off. They both cry out at their release and then pant heavily as Jethro wraps himself around Tony's back while they both calm down.

Tony drops his head to the bed and Jethro hears his muffled comment, "Best cardio, _ever!_" and starts to chuckle. Jethro also starts to laugh and the sensations it sends both men as they laugh while still connected brings gasps to both of their lips.

Jethro gently withdraws and then slaps Tony's ass saying, "Not bad for an old man, huh?"

Tony laughs as he stands to stretch and follow Jethro into the en suite bathroom. They shower together quickly, both rapidly fading towards sleep. They dry off and then climb naked into bed to wrap themselves up in each other. Tony ends up with his head resting on Jethro's chest running his hand through the soft curls there. Jethro holds Tony close to him and runs his own fingers through Tony's soft hair.

Jethro places a kiss on top of Tony's head saying, "Goodnight, baby."

Tony places his own kiss on Jethro's chest murmuring, "Goodnight, love."

A deep, peaceful sleep claims them as the soothing sound of rain and rumbles of thunder follow them into happy dreams.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC

**A/N: I wanted a chapter with mainly the boys, hope you liked it! ;-)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tim McGee stopped back at his desk before heading home at 9:30pm. Franklin was still sitting at Gibbs' desk and Ziva was still muttering in Hebrew at hers. Neither one of them looked happy. Tim quickly shut everything down and grabbed his things to leave.

As he straightened up he found Franklin looking right at him. He inclined his head at the senior agent as he swallowed deeply. "Agent Franklin." He said in greeting.

"McGee." Franklin nodded his head in response. "Have a good night."

Tim gulped. "Thank you Sir, goodnight." He quickly responded as he all but ran to the elevator. He heard Ziva complaining as he waited for the elevator to come.

"Why is McGee allowed to leave?" She asked Franklin angrily.

"Because Agent McGee did about four times the amount of work you did today, David!" He testily replied. "He's starting work on his second month of reports! Have you even finished the first week yet?"

"Yes! If you did not keep handing them back to me I would probably be done with the second month by now!" She snottily replied.

"Well, If you learned from your mistakes and actually figured out how to write a report, you wouldn't have to keep re-doing them!" He sarcastically snapped back at her.

Tim was relieved to hear the ding announcing the elevator had arrived. He was about to dash inside, when he realized someone was exiting. That someone, being the director.

"Ma'am! I thought you had left for the day." McGee asked her.

"I did Agent McGee, but I have some more work to do. Is that alright with you?" She replied with an amused expression on her face.

McGee turned red and stuttered out, "Y-yes, Ma'am. "Sorry. Ma'am!"

She raised an eyebrow as Ziva's bickering increased in volume from the Bullpen.

"_I DO know how to make a report! In Mossad…" She started._

"_THIS IS NOT MOSSAD, OFFICER DAVID!" Franklin roared at her._

The director sighed as she turned towards the Bullpen saying, "Goodnight Agent McGee."

"N-night ma'am." McGee mumbled as he dove into the elevator as the doors were closing.

Tim slumped against the back wall of the elevator, supremely glad he had managed to slip out before Ziva escalated further. He knew the director was going to tear her a new one. Normally, he would be only too happy to witness that, but his guilt over the Grant case and all the mistakes he had made by following her, compelled him to stay as far away from her as he could. He was already ashamed to be associated with her and he was likely going to have this ass handed to him by Tony when he got back and found out about Renny Grant. He was determined to keep his head down and do his job, better than he had been. He sighed deeply as he made his way to his car wondering if he would still have a job this time next week.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd sighed as she exited the elevator in Tony's apartment building. Her agent escort was waiting in a chair in the lobby. He rose as she walked towards him. She heard him say into his Comm link, "Bring the car around." To her driver.

"Home now, director?" He asked her.

"I'm afraid not Greg, I need to get back to the Navy Yard." She answered him.

"Right away, ma'am."

They stepped out and into the car as it came to a stop by the front door. She did not say anything as they made their way back to the Yard. She ran her evening with Tony and Jethro back in her mind. Apparently the situation with Ziva was spiraling out of control. Just thinking about the lies she had concocted around the truth angered Jenny all over again. She had hoped that her time here would have softened the arrogant edge Ziva always carried around, but it had only seemed to heighten it. Jenny did not understand it, it seemed to be more than simple jealousy, it was almost like a compulsion. She _had_ to prove she was the best, she _had_ to be the center of attention. Tony's personality alone blew that right out of the water. Not to mention his professional and educational qualifications. Things Ziva just refused to accept. She knew Ziva had an above average IQ, but it amazed her how willfully blind she could be. Ziva was a good fighter and could sneak around almost as undetected as Gibbs, but her own personality shortcomings made her unpredictable.

Correction: She was entirely predictable. It was guaranteed that she would react with anger to any situation she was not in control of, and to be proved wrong was just asking for her to break a bone or worse. Jenny sighed deeply as she gazed out the window of her SUV at the DC night. She had thought that getting Ziva away from Mossad would help her. She had been astonished when Ziva had rescued her in Eastern Europe to learn she was only in her early twenties. The level of viciousness and detachment she had shown when dispatching Jenny's attackers was usually only present in someone who had been doing that for decades.

Jenny did not want to give up on her after everything she had learned about her, but she was making it extremely difficult. She ran over what would happen in the next few days and felt very tired. Ziva, if she still had a job, would be very unhappy with everyone involved. Jenny just hoped the situation could be salvaged and that there would be no casualties as a result. She was snapped out of her thoughts as they pulled up to the front door at the Naval Yard. She told Greg and her driver to go home, she would be staying here tonight as she made her way into the building.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

As gratifying as it had been to intimidate Agent McGee, Jenny was not looking forward to refereeing this.

Agent Balboa had joined Agent Franklin when he and Ziva had started to get loud. Fortunately, they were the only three still on the floor at this time of night, so Jenny was their only audience.

She stood behind the partition at Ziva's desk and watched the argument unfold.

"If this were Mossad, I would be.." Ziva started as she stood up angrily behind her desk to face Franklin and now Balboa who had appeared behind him.

"You would be what, _Officer David_? In charge?" Franklin scoffed as he walked around Gibbs' desk to stand in front of Ziva's desk.

"No one would put you in charge of a bathroom! Oh, wait! You can't even do that! Every man in this building is aware of your obsession with the men's room!" He laughed.

"I don't think Papa David is stupid enough to put you in charge of lunch! Isn't that why you're here? You had too many mistakes and were causing him too much embarrassment." Franklin leaned in over her desk and spoke in a low voice, "I have a lot of contacts in that part of the world, _Miss _David, and I know this is your last chance and you're about to blow it!" He finished with a smirk on his face as he straightened back up. Balboa placed a hand on his arm and shook his head, silently telling him to back off.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Ziva screamed at him, her face turning an impressive shade of red. "THAT IS ALL LIES! MY FATHER IS NOT EMBARRASSED OF ME!" She was breathing hard and her hands were clenched at her sides to keep from drawing her gun and shooting him.

Jenny had heard enough. "Officer David!" she snapped out as she stepped around the partition. "Go up to my office, right NOW!" She emphasized her order by pointing up the stairs and staring directly into Ziva's angry eyes. It took a few seconds, but she saw the cold fury inside Ziva that was ready to strike, back down to a slow simmer.

Ziva slammed her chair back into the table behind her and stalked up the stairs. The director and both lead agents watched her retreat. When she slammed her way into the director's office, Jenny looked back at the two men. She noted that Balboa had a worried expression on his face and Franklin actually looked contrite.

"Director, I'm sorry, I went too far." Franklin said, while sighing deeply. "She just knows every button to push!" He frustratingly said.

"Ted, I understand. You've both had a very long, tedious day. Go home, both of you. We'll discuss it tomorrow." Jenny replied

"With all due respect ma'am, we are not leaving you here alone with her!" Balboa stated.

"No, ma'am!" Franklin agreed. "We'll wait until she leaves."

"Gentlemen, I've known Ziva for years, I will let her calm down and then send her home. I think seeing you both when she comes out of the office might set her off again." The director replied.

"Ma'am, we're not leaving you unprotected with a foreign assassin! We'll keep out of sight when she comes out, but we're not leaving until she's gone." Balboa firmly stated as Franklin nodded beside him.

"Fine, but make sure you stay out of sight!" Jenny replied as she turned to go up to her office. It was too late and she was too tired to argue. Plus, she wasn't entirely sure of Ziva's state of mind right now. It might be best to have back-up.

She took a deep breath and then entered her office.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva was pacing from the conference table to the couch and back again, very quickly. As soon as she saw the director, her temper blew.

"Who does he think he is? He cannot talk to me like that! He does not know anything! He is, he is…" She agitatedly spat out.

"He is a supervisory agent who is your superior, Officer David! We have had this conversation several times. Perhaps Agent Franklin may have gone a bit far.." Jenny started before Ziva interrupted her again.

"A bit far! He has insulted me and my father and Mossad, and, and.." Ziva trailed off as she flopped down on the couch. Jenny was surprised to see her run out of steam so quickly, she seemed to fold in on herself.

Jenny crossed the room and sat in the chair next to the couch. She watched as many emotions played over Ziva's face and was surprised when embarrassment seemed to be the one she settled on. Jenny kept quiet and waited for Ziva to ask what she seemed to be struggling with herself to ask.

After almost five agonizing minutes for Ziva, she finally asked in a small voice, "Is it true?" while looking down at her hands.

"Is what true, Ziva?" Jenny asked in a quiet voice.

"Is my father embarrassed of me? Did he just send me here to get rid of me?" she mumbled.

Jenny sighed deeply and replied, "No, Ziva. Your father is not embarrassed of you, he loves you very much. He only has your best interests at heart, that's why you're here." Jenny had leant forward and placed a comforting hand on Ziva's knee.

Ziva brought her head up and Jenny was surprised to see confusion and uncertainty on her face.

"I do not understand." She said.

"I know, Ziva, I know, and that's the problem. I know you are intelligent and learn quickly, I just do not understand your inability to see that someone may know more than you and could teach you something!" Jenny replied with a frustrated air.

Jenny stood and started pacing herself as she continued.

"I know that chain of command is a very important part of Mossad training, but you seem to disregard it here without another thought! I know you have seen and experienced many things, but you do not know everything and there are people here who could teach you valuable lessons!" Jenny again sighed deeply as she resumed her seat in the chair.

"You fight tooth and nail against Tony, who could teach you so much about reading people and many other things, but you disregard him as unimportant and treat him as such. Ziva, you of all people should know that you can't judge a book by its cover, you have to look beyond the surface to see what's really going on inside!" She looked at Ziva, but could not tell if anything was getting through, but she continued on anyway.

"That's why you're getting the hostility directed at you from Agents Franklin and Balboa and pretty much anyone else who has seen the way you behave towards Agent DiNozzo. They are good investigators and see Tony for what he really is: one of the best agents we have to offer. The impression you give off is that you are better than everyone else and they are not worth your time. Well, I've got news for you, you're not, and those people you dismiss so easily? They could teach you a great deal, if you just get over yourself and start listening!" She said in a hard voice.

"It's not only Tony, your behavior towards Agents Franklin, Balboa and McGee is unacceptable! Gibbs seemed to be the only one you listened to, but I saw you pushing back with him too on occasion. Agent McGee, who is also your superior, could teach you so much about computers, but you believe your Mossad training is above all others and you have learned everything you need to from them. Well, their training involving tact and humility must be nonexistent, because you don't have any!" She again sighed when Ziva seemed to start tuning her out.

She leaned forward and forced Ziva to look at her directly.

"Ziva, we are fast approaching the point of no return. If your attitude and work ethic does not quickly improve, your position will be terminated and you will be on the next flight back to Israel. Do you understand me?" Jenny asked sternly.

Ziva swallowed and replied, "Yes, director. I am quite tired, may I go home to rest and start again tomorrow?" she asked.

Jenny searched her face, but a blank mask had descended over her features.

"Yes, you are dismissed until 0800 hours tomorrow morning." the director replied.

Ziva nodded once and then got up and quickly left.

Jenny watched her go with many thoughts running through her mind. She was now not sure the plan she had with Jethro and Tony was feasible. Ziva was being pushed to her limits and was about ready to crack, it may be time to call in other reinforcements.

Jenny's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Enter." She tiredly called out.

Agents Franklin and Balboa both walked into her office.

"Everything okay, ma'am?" Balboa asked.

"For now. Has she left?" She asked them.

"Yep, went from your office to the front gate in about five minutes." Franklin responded. "I don't know how much longer I can stand to work with her without wringing her neck." He said while running his hand through his hair.

"Switch it up." Jenny replied. "Vince, you take over the lead with Ziva tomorrow and Ted, take over with McGee."

"Yes, ma'am." Balboa replied, while Franklin just looked relieved.

"Agent Balboa, you are not to repeat anything you heard on the floor tonight to anyone, do I make myself clear?" She asked him with a stern look.

"Yes, ma'am." He quickly replied.

"Fine, Vince, you can leave, Ted, stay a minute." the director ordered.

"Yes, ma'am, night ma'am, Ted." Balboa said to her while giving Ted a _good luck, man _look on his way out, closing the door behind him.

The director got up and went to sit behind her desk while indicating Franklin should sit in a chair opposite.

"Tell me what you've heard about Officer David from your contacts." she asked him.

He let out a huff of breath, "Pretty much just what I said down there: She was messing up ops because of her, _I'm better than you_ attitude and daddy sent her over here as punishment because she embarrassed him."

"Have you shared this opinion with anyone else on the floor?" the director asked him with a sharp look.

"No, ma'am. Like I said, she just pushed all the right buttons and I went for the jugular to shut her up. It's been a long day." He finished, while looking directly back at her.

"I know she's difficult to deal with, but I'm hoping some of what I told her gets through. You both were over-tired and I think you both pushed each others buttons." She replied with a wry smile.

"Go home and get some rest. I don't think McGee will give you any trouble tomorrow." She told him.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied as he got up to leave.

"Agent Franklin?" Jenny called out as he reached the door.

"Ma'am?" He asked as he turned back around to face her.

"What I told Vince goes for you too. I don't want to hear any scuttlebutt on what your contacts told you about Ziva circulating, you keep that information to yourself." She ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded his reply and slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

Jenny got up and locked her office door while dousing all the lights in the office. She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on her couch after setting her phone to wake her at 0300 hours and left it on the coffee table next to her weapon, pulling the afghan down to cover herself.

_Time for a new plan. _She thought as she drifted off to sleep. She had a few hours before calls needed to be made.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim McGee picked up some Chinese food on the way home and ate it sitting on his couch, staring at his TV. He sat for a half hour after he finished just staring at the screen, but not seeing anything. He was fortunate to get home in between storms. The lightning and thunder started up again as he was getting out of his car and it was now pouring down rain again. The weather matched his dreary mood perfectly.

He could not believe everything that had changed in just the past two days.

He was appalled at some of the things he had done and said over the past year. He had done some digging on his lunch hour and was astounded at the level of Tony's education. He had graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ohio State in all three of his subjects and had been offered a full scholarship from Johns Hopkins to study medicine. He had basically been given a free ride to become a doctor on a subject that was a minor for him.

He had also had offers to join the Master's degree programs at several prestigious universities. Like Stanford, Yale, Cal-Tech, Harvard, even Oxford and yes, MIT too. He had decided on Northwestern and while working for the Peoria police he had finished his Criminology Masters in two years, also graduating Summa Cum Laude.

He had then moved to Philadelphia and joined their police force and went to Penn State, starting his Computer Forensics degree that he was just about to finish his Masters in at Georgetown. He had also become the youngest officer ever to make detective, after the successful take-down of a big-name crime syndicate that he had been instrumental in.

He had then moved on to the Baltimore PD and finally gone to Johns Hopkins where he finished his Criminal Psychology Masters, also Summa Cum Laude.

He had been stunned at the depth of information he was able to find, just by removing his head from his ass. He really had been blinded by his own arrogance. He had tried to discuss his findings with Abby, but she was no longer speaking to him, and if he wanted to ever be able to have children, he needed to stay out of her lab for the foreseeable future.

Tony was a wonder. His IQ was 183, 43 points higher than Timothy's own and well into the super genius range. He had an eidetic memory that went a long way to explaining his encyclopedic knowledge of movies. He had participated in a study at Johns Hopkins about how the mind worked and he had been classified as an associative thinker. His mind was able to pull seemingly inconsequential facts together into a big picture. It was also sometimes called free thinking because the person's mind was constantly wandering, making connections.

That explained his uncanny ability to solve cases. He was just as intuitive about a case as Gibbs was, that's why they made such a good team. Tim made a mental note to look into Gibbs' background too, he may not be an associative thinker, but he must also have some pretty impressive gray cells to do the work he did and usually be a step ahead of Tony.

He wondered what Tony would do to him when he found out about Renny Grant. Whatever it was, he deserved it. His arrogance had nearly cost a man his life. Maybe he should just resign.

No.

That was the coward's way out and he needed to prove to Tony that he was willing to change and learn from his mistakes. He realized that Tony had so much to teach him. He would be a fool not to take advantage of all that knowledge and experience, and he was done being a fool.

He realized now that Tony had been trying to toughen him up so he could handle things when he or Gibbs were no longer there. He thought back to the first case they had worked together at Norfolk and he chuckled to himself. He had almost thrown up on the crime scene, that would not happen today. He also realized that Tony's jokes and pranks had kept the darkness from eating him alive. He probably would have eaten his gun without Tony's distractions.

Tim sighed deeply and scrubbed his hand over his face. He hoped he would be able to repair all the damage he had done by listening to the wrong person. Not only was Abby mad at him, Ducky had been decidedly cool towards him and Palmer had stared daggers at him when he had gone down to autopsy earlier to get some information on the Bryan case for Balboa.

He clicked off his TV and got up to put away his leftovers and head to bed.

He had a lot of reports to get through and he wanted to be as close to finishing as he could be when Tony came back on Saturday.

He set his alarm and fell into bed. The last thought he had before falling asleep was to morosely wonder if Tony had chosen replacements for him and Ziva yet.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva David drove home, again on auto-pilot. This time, though it was not a suicidal dash through the streets, but a rather sedate one. She had a lot to think about.

She had known Jenny Shepherd for almost four years. She had met her on a joint Mossad-NCIS black ops mission in the Ukraine to take out a Ukrainian war lord who had already killed six Marines and was supplying Hamas with Russian weapons. Jenny had been undercover to find out where the war lord was hiding, but the people she had hired to take her there covertly had sold her out and eight of the war lords muscle was waiting for her at the meeting site.

Ziva had shadowed her and was her only back-up when they had immediately killed the CIA agent traveling with her. Ziva had stepped in right away and had killed all of the war lords lieutenants before they had known what was going on. She was able to get them both out of the Ukraine and they had traveled together back to Israel.

She had immediately liked Jenny, which was very unusual for her, and they had stayed in touch after the mission. They had even met up occasionally in Paris, Madrid, Cairo or wherever they were to just talk, have a meal or even shop together. Jenny was the first real female friend she had ever had. That was why her betrayal at backing DiNozzo had hurt so much. She had thought Jenny was on her side.

She had not managed to get inside before the rain started pouring down again, so the first thing she had done after getting home was to take a long-hot shower.

Franklin's words kept echoing in her head though.

"_I don't think Papa David is stupid enough to put you in charge of lunch!"_

"_Causing him too much embarrassment."_

"_This is your last chance and you're about to blow it!" _

She wanted to hit or break something, but she was unbelievably tired, she just didn't have the energy. She finished her shower and got ready for bed.

As she lay in bed, her mind kept going over everything that had happened in the last few days. She had known, in the back of her mind, that Tony was not to be trifled with, yet she had pushed him and it had come back to chew her. She thought of all the ops she had worked just before coming to DC and realized that, yes, she may have not been doing her best. She had killed instead of arresting suspects in the last half dozen cases she had worked there, and the problem was, she didn't care. She had felt nothing killing those people.

Even having to kill Ari had not fazed her all that much. Jenny's offer of a liaison position with NCIS had come at the right time. She knew she was teetering on a collapse, but hadn't realized at the time that she may have already gone over the edge. Her father turning this liaison position into a _mission_ had left her cold inside. Jenny trusted her, she didn't want to ruin that bond, but she didn't want to disappoint her father even further. The information she had sent him so far was declassified and virtually useless to Israel. So far he had not questioned the content, but it was only a matter of time.

She really enjoyed being here. No one was watching her every move and she didn't have to worry about bombs or terrorists, at least not too much. The safety here was something she had never experienced before and she liked it very much. She had fallen back on old habits when she had tried to separate Tony from the team with her dinner party and had paid dearly. She hadn't been observant enough and did not know that Tony and Gibbs were in a relationship and it had cost her a large portion of Gibbs' trust.

She had been sloppy and miscalculated, something Franklin and Jenny had also pointed out to her tonight.

Perhaps they were right.

Thinking rationally now, she realized that her plan to use Gibbs to take out Jenny and Tony would not work. Gibbs was not fully healed and no matter what he did, Tony and Jenny would both talk to him and correct him on the lies she had told him. He would then be even more furious with her than he had been after that party. She would have to try and stop him, but it might already be too late, he had all day today to put into motion whatever he planned.

She felt tears on her face and turned on her stomach to bury her face in her pillow. Her machinations had probably cost her the one truly safe place she had ever known. All because she hated to be wrong and let her pride dictate her actions. She had lost everything.

After about ten minutes her tears stopped and she slipped into a restless sleep.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny's phone awoke her at 0300 hours. She stretched and turned on the lamp next to the couch. She had plenty of time to make her call in MTAC, but she first had to take care of a few things. She sent texts to Tony and Gibbs telling them both to hold off on their plans, something had come up and she would talk to them later today.

She then went to her private bathroom to freshen up. Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the bathroom looking put together again. She walked over to her desk and retrieved a large envelope from a locked drawer that had been couriered to her last week and left the office.

She scanned herself into MTAC and startled the two techs who were working the board and were currently watching a movie on the big screen. They had obviously not known she was still in the building.

"Director! Ma'am, we uh, we didn't know you were here. It won't happen again, ma'am." Tech Owens stuttered as he scrambled to get the movie turned off.

"I'm sure it won't." She replied with a wry smile on her face. "I need you both to clear the room and do not come back in or let anyone else in until I've come back out, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am, but won't you need someone to run the board ma'am?" Owens asked her.

"Mister Owens, running the board was one of the first jobs I had at NCIS, I think I can manage." She replied with a smirk that turned into a serious expression. "Now, clear the room, please." She ordered.

The two techs scrambled to comply and Jenny quickly found herself alone in MTAC.

She went over to the board and quickly typed in what she needed before going to stand in front of the big screen. The blue screen was quickly replaced with the inside view of an office with someone sitting in the desk chair looking back at her.

"Good morning, Director Shepherd, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The man asked.

"Good morning Eli." She replied with a serious look. "We have to talk."

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

"I thought we had an agreement Eli." Jenny stated with a sour look on her face. "I guess you really don't care what happens to Ziva." she finished.

"How DARE you! Of course I care about my daughter! Is that not why she is there with you instead of here where she belongs?" Eli David slammed his hand down on his desk to frighten this impertinent woman, but a hard look settled in Jenny's eyes and she was not in the least bit intimidated by him. She reminded him greatly of her father.

"Is that so?" She started with a mocking smile on her face. "Then maybe you could explain this?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and holding up the large envelope she had brought with her.

"Explain what? I do not know what you are talking about!" He was more than a little agitated that his normal tactics to control a situation were not working.

"Let me clarify." The director calmly stated while opening the envelope and taking out the contents. "This envelope contains documents that Ziva had sent to you, and we intercepted, to fulfill the little _mission_ you sent her on when she came here." Jenny explained carefully so there would be no misunderstanding. "They are also proof that you sent a foreign operative onto our soil with the intention of gathering intelligence on an ally for you."

Although Eli was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking, he decided to keep up the charade.

"Director Shepherd, I take great offence at your disgusting insinuation!" He blustered. "An accusation such as this could damage the good relations between our two nations." He admonished. "Are you prepared to withstand the consequences of your unfounded attack?" He finished with a threatening air as he leaned over his desk and closer to the camera.

Jenny Shepherd had a knowing smirk on her face during this entire speech and Eli was disconcerted that she didn't have a trace of worry or apprehension on her face. On the contrary, she looked like a scorpion about to strike. Eli was further disheartened when she took her own step closer to the screen. He sighed internally and thought to himself. _"I think I may be in some trouble."_

"Did you really think I would be that stupid, Eli?" She replied through her smirk. "Letting a foreign operative have unfettered access to classified naval documents is not a prudent move, don't you agree director David?"

Eli leaned back in his chair, but he didn't respond.

Jenny's eyes took on a cold look, but the smirk remained as she continued. "Ziva shared some stories about you from when she was growing up and I heard plenty about you from my father, so I was a little skeptical of your benevolence when you were so enthusiastic about Ziva coming here to _heal_. Not to mention her change in demeanor just before we flew here right after she had a _private_ meeting with you."

Eli still said nothing as she continued.

"So, I took precautions." She informed him. "Everything Ziva ever accessed or attempted to access was monitored, in the Naval Yard or out of it. I must say, what she did choose to send you out of what we allowed her to see was particularly unimportant." She commented as she thumbed through the pages from the envelope.

"Maybe your opinion is not as important to her as you thought it was." She said mockingly.

Eli shifted in his chair, but he still said nothing.

"Let me explain a few things to you, director David." She began. "Sending an operative into another country to gather intelligence on said country is known as espionage. If said operative is caught gathering said intelligence they are subject to extreme consequences up to and including execution, depending on what was taken, of course." She added conversationally.

"Now, I find it extremely hard to believe you had Ziva's best interests at heart when you sent her into that situation knowing her computer skills are marginal at best and it was likely she would be caught." Jenny had been pacing before the screen as she said this and she now stopped to again face Eli. "I also know you must have realized we would not allow her access to anything sensitive that is not any of Israel's business or did you _really_ think we were that naïve?"

"So," She continued without giving him any chance to reply. "I'm thinking your little _mission _was just another test of her loyalty to you. Again, not really the actions of a loving, caring parent, is it?" She asked him sarcastically.

Eli stared back at her, before replying, "What is it you want, director Shepherd?"

"What I want. Well, in this instance, I want you to not be such a son of a bitch, but that's a little unrealistic, isn't it?" She asked with a smile.

"If you are simply going to insult me, we have nothing to discuss." Eli stated as he reached for his computer to turn off the transmission.

"Director David! If you end this transmission I will personally show the evidence I have of your attempt at espionage against the United States Navy to the President." Eli froze his motion and then sat back in his chair to allow her to continue. "Smart choice director David."

"Now when we spoke in Israel after I had been appointed Director of this agency, we agreed that Ziva coming here was in _her_ best interests, not yours." She looked directly at him, daring him to contradict her. "We also agreed that Mossad was no longer the best or safest place for her and because of that, I created a position in my agency for her."

She paused, but Eli had nothing to say.

"I am, however, not a fool. I knew you would try to take every advantage of the situation, so that's why Ziva is limited in what she can do and why I am in possession of what little she has attempted to send you. Rest assured, that was the first and last of these little shipments you can expect to not receive." She threw the envelope on the floor in front of the screen and stood facing him with her arms crossed.

"I am now going to explain what is going to happen from now on." Her voice took on a hard edge as she continued, "There will be no further attempts on your part to illegally obtain classified information from the United States Navy or Marines."

"Just the Navy and Marines, Director Shepherd?" He asked her with a smirk.

"You can throw in the Coast Guard too," She retorted, "the Army and Air Force are on their own."

"We're also going to pretend that you are the caring parent you would like everyone to believe you are." Eli's smirk vanished when she told him that.

"In the spirit of that, we are going to go back to our original agreement." She continued. "I brought Ziva here to save her from herself and the toxic influence that is you and Mossad. She is here to learn how to trust and respect other human beings. That is one mission she will complete, successfully, without your interference."

"To that end, you will limit your contact with her. I know you speak every few days," Eli looked startled that she had been keeping such close watch of them and the director smirked at his discomfort, "you will limit your calls to once a week. I prefer that it be on Saturdays. She's always agitated more than usual after you speak and it interferes with her work." She continued, taking great pleasure in Eli's own agitation.

"So I am not able to speak with my daughter whenever I wish?" He spat back at her.

"Not until you can learn to respect her and she can learn to stand on her own." Jenny replied.

"My daughter is a very strong woman, she does not need anyone telling her otherwise!" He heatedly replied.

"Strength to best an opponent in a fight is one thing, Eli. Strength of character is something entirely different, that's where she needs work." Jenny said in a somber voice.

"I've seen flashes of the real Ziva when we met for a meal or to shop or just to talk. She is an intelligent, compassionate woman who crushes that part of herself into a small box and locks it away so doing what you force her to do doesn't drive her mad. That's the person I'm trying to save, and I thought you were too." She said quietly.

Eli bent his head down to stare at his hands and did not reply.

"So, we are again in agreement then? You will not contact Ziva more than once a week _and _you will never mention to her gathering _anything_ for you ever again!" She finished.

"I agree." Eli replied in a quiet voice.

"Good. Oh, and Eli?" He raised his head to look at her. "The SecNav is fully aware of what you attempted to do." He was shocked by this admission and it showed on his face. Jenny smirked as she continued, "Who do you think came up with the surveillance package we use to control what Ziva has access to? He's been in this game a lot longer than you, Eli, there isn't much Davenport doesn't know."

She checked her watch and saw that nearly and hour had passed.

"I must be going, big day ahead, Shalom Eli." She said as she walked over to the console and cut the transmission. She then made a copy of the exchange for herself and one for Sec Nav and then erased all records of the transmission from the logs. It now appeared the last hour was just as uneventful as the rest of the night.

She gathered the contents of the envelope and left MTAC. The two techs on duty struggled to their feet when she emerged. "All yours, gentlemen." She told them as she walked briskly back to her office.

They exchanged glances, shrugged and went back inside to resume their quiet shift.

Jenny again locked the envelope and her copy of the disk in her desk. She then decided to go in search of some breakfast in the break room. Her steps were light and she wore a smile on her face as she descended to the lower level.

_I think things are finally looking up._ She thought to herself.

Eli David sat back in his chair and chuckled to himself. "Well played, Director Shepherd, well played." He sighed deeply as he contemplated the morning's developments. He had no doubt Davenport was aware of what had transpired, he was a wily old goat who took every advantage. _Just like me._ He smirked to himself. His smile faded as he thought of Ziva. He had intended to send her to the US to help her, she had been losing herself more and more working here. He just couldn't resist trying to exploit her position. He actually _did_ think the Americans were that naïve. Shepherd and Davenport had taught him a valuable lesson: there is always someone smarter and wilier than you. He shook his head at his folly, never underestimate the Americans! He sighed as he went back to the reports he had been reading before Shepherd's call. He hoped Ziva learned well and was safe. Maybe someday they could have a normal relationship again. He truly hoped for that day.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim McGee had awoken early after a restless night. His conscience was again plaguing him in his sleep. After stopping for breakfast and two of the largest coffees he could find, he walked into the bullpen at 6:30am. He was surprised to find Balboa now sitting at Gibbs' old desk and there was no sign of Ziva or Franklin yet.

Balboa looked up as he came in and nodded his head in greeting and then returned to typing on the computer.

"Um, Sir?" He continued when Balboa looked up at him again. "I left the Grant case, the Bryan case (just what I worked on) and the case files I had finished on your desk last night." He nervously told him.

"Found 'Em. Good work on all of them, no corrections." He responded before adding, "Big improvement over those crap reports you left Tony with! Make sure the quality doesn't drop again." He said with a hard tone.

Tim turned bright red and flinched as though he had just gotten a head slap and ducked his head down mumbling, "yes, sir." as he booted up his computer.

Balboa got a smirk on his face as he watched the other agents discomfort. He leaned back in the chair and told him, "By the way, McGee" He waited until McGee looked back up at him. "Give all the reports you finish today to Franklin, I'm handling David today."

"Yes, sir." He answered and then added, "I'm sorry, sir."

"Yeah, you and me both. Ted needs the break though. Get on your reports McGee." He responded with a sigh as he also went back to his own work.

McGee slumped when Balboa's attention was no longer on him. He felt sorry for him. If Ziva had wound herself up last night over what had happened, they were all in for a very long day. He sighed deeply and started on his work. He was soon lost in his typing and fact-checking.

Balboa was happy to see him take advantage of the quiet before David got in. If last night was any indication, they were in for one hell of a day. He frowned at that thought and went back to his own work, also taking advantage of the calm before the storm.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva had also awoken early and the first thing she did was to send a text to Gibbs: _Please do not do anything yet! We have to talk, can I come over 6am?"_

She nervously waited for a reply or a call and when nothing happened for the next ten minutes, she sighed and went to shower and get ready. She grabbed her phone when she came out and was both relieved and apprehensive to see the response: _My house 6am _on her phone.

Her hand shook a little as she put her phone in her purse. She didn't feel like eating, but it had been lunch yesterday since she had anything so she forced herself to eat a small bowl of oatmeal. She grabbed a water from her fridge and took off for Gibb's house, she would just make it in time.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony had startled awake a little after 3am when first his phone chirped that it had a message and then Gibbs' , that was lying next to his, did also. He quickly checked the message from Jenny: _Need to abort plan for Ziva, do nothing! I will explain, lunch? _He sighed when he read that, thinking, _"Now, what?" _He checked Jethro's phone and found the identical message from her on his. He replied with: _Jethro is with me, got the msg. Noon, my apartment._

He leaned back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling. Aborting everything was not a good sign. I wonder if something major happened with Ziva? No matter how she had treated him, he hadn't been looking forward to annihilating her, so he wasn't too upset about scrapping the plan. If she had gone postal, he would've expected Abby or Ducky or Jimmy to have called, _Unless she took them out! _he thought as he drew in a sharp breath.

No. No. If she had done something like that, the director would have called outright, not sent a text about meeting later. He calmed himself, but the disturbing image of a bloodbath in Abby's lab or autopsy lingered. He turned his head to the side and took in the view of the man sleeping next to him. This brought a smile to his face and relaxed him completely again. He caressed the arm Jethro had thrown over his waist and was soon dozing off again.

He was again startled out of his sleep a little after 5am by the sound of Jethro's phone again buzzing with a message.

This one was from Ziva: _Please do not do anything yet! We have to talk, can I come over 6am?"_

Tony read the message about three times over before his shocked brain kicked in. _What the hell!?_

He gently nudged Jethro's sleeping form, "Hey sleeping beauty, wake up!" he cajoled the man.

Jethro was nearly instantaneously awake and looking back at him with a laser sharp gaze. "What's wrong?" He had that feeling in his gut and one look at Tony's face told him it was something big.

"Well, we both got a text from Jenny around 3am telling us to abort the Ziva plan and she would explain at lunch. _Then, _you just got a text from _Ziva_ also seeming to want you to abort your plan and wanting to come by the house 6am! I don't know what the hell is going on Jethro, but I'm not getting a good feeling on this." He finished with a deep frown on his face.

"Yeah, I think something is up too." He sighed. "Gimme the phone." He asked while holding out his hand for it. Tony handed it over and he quickly typed a response and then jumped out of bed.

Tony was right up with him asking, "What did you tell her?"

Jethro shrugged, "My house 6am. No sense dragging it out." He replied before ducking into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Tony walked right in on his heels. Jethro stopped and looked at him.

"I don't have time to play baby, I'll come back after?" He questioned.

Tony just snorted out a laugh. "Not a chance, Ahab! You are NOT meeting her alone in your house! You drive, so she doesn't see my car and you can drop me off on the street behind your place and I'll come in from the back. It'll give me a chance to scope out if she has something waiting for you too." Tony informed him as he stepped into the shower while Jethro looked at him with a stunned expression.

He was pulled out of his shock when Tony, now done with his shower, slapped him on the ass and went back out into the bedroom to dress.

"No time to argue, move your ass Marine or we'll be late!" He ordered.

That snapped Jethro out of his reverie and he hopped into the shower Tony had vacated and quickly did his thing. They were both dressed and in his truck heading back to Jethro's house 10 minutes after he had sent Ziva the reply.

Tony tried calling Jenny on the way over to get a little more info on the situation, but her phone went to voicemail. He took a deep breath. Not great, but they had worked with less, they would be okay.

"No answer?" Jethro asked as he took a corner near his neighborhood on two wheels.

"Nope, we'll just wing it, won't be the first time." He replied as he hung on tight through another sharp turn. They were nearing the place Tony suggested he be dropped off.

"So, I'll case the house and then go in through the kitchen if it looks okay. If it doesn't, look for me by the driveway near the garage." Tony told him as Jethro stopped and Tony hopped out of the truck.

Jethro nodded his head once in agreement and watched Tony quickly disappear through his neighbor's hedges into Jethro's back yard. He drove at a more sedate pace to give Tony time to check things out and nearly five minutes later pulled into his driveway. Tony was not by the driveway, but he saw him wave an okay from his front window, so he got out of the truck and went inside.

Tony was coming down the stairs when he walked inside.

"Nothing set to go boom outside and the house is clear. Didn't see any surveillance camera's inside or out and couldn't find any listening devices, we're good. Why don't you make coffee and I'll find a hidey hole where she won't see me. Do you have your back-up piece?"

Jethro waved it at him as he turned back from his gun safe and slid it into his front sweatshirt pocket as Tony smiled an approving smile.

"Okay, time to rock and roll!" He gave Jethro a quick kiss and went to ensconce himself in the closet under the stairs. Jethro watched him go with a fond smile and then turned back to the kitchen.

He had just poured a cup of freshly brewed coffee when he heard a car in his drive. He took his cup to the dining room table and placed another one opposite him on the table for Ziva. He glanced over at the door of the closet that Tony was in and saw it ajar. He immediately calmed, knowing Tony had his six. He opened the paper that was on the table and waited for Ziva.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd had caught up on almost all of her paperwork by 6:30am when her cell phone rang. She was surprised to see Phil Davenport's name on the display of the phone.

"Good morning Mr. Secretary! I didn't expect to hear from you this early!"

"_Good Morning Director! I just read your email concerning your chat with Eli David and I watched the link of the video. Nice job Jenny. I couldn't have done better myself!"_

"Thank you, Phil. He is now aware that he won't be getting anything from us. I just hope he doesn't try to sabotage Ziva too much."

"_From what I've heard, she doesn't need any help from him in that department. She had another incident last night with another lead agent, did she not?"_

"She did. However, it was more of a mutual antagonism between them. They had worn each other down over the course of a very long day.

"_Be that as it may, I'm more concerned that she is still questioning the authority of her superiors. She still does not respect her superiors, and that troubles me greatly Director Shepherd."_

"I understand Mr. Secretary, but we had a long discussion last night and I believe she finally understands what is at stake. She's been through a lot and…"

"_We've all been through a lot Director Shepherd. She's had a whole year to change her way of thinking, her time is up."_

"Mr. Secretary, if you'll just allow her a little more time to adjust, she…"

"_Frankly Jenny, her time was up when she decided to send documents from the US Navy to a foreign power. It doesn't matter if they're an ally or not, it's still espionage. She's lucky I'm in a forgiving mood, or she would be on a one-way transport to Gitmo. I take the safety and security of our fighting men and women very seriously."_

"Yes, sir."

"_Now, I understand she's in the middle of correcting work she should have been doing for the past three and a half months?"_

"Yes, sir. She's been working through the reports, but it will take some time to complete."

"_I would imagine so. That's a long time to be skating by on the bare minimum. When she's finished with her reports Director, she is suspended for three and a half months. I trust you can identify my reasoning."_

"Yes, sir. Retraining after that? That's what we're doing with Agent McGee."

"_Ah, Agent McGee, a living example of a true follower. How is he adjusting to the new working parameters you and Agent DiNozzo have set up?"_

"He's adjusting quite well, sir. I sent you the report on the Renny Grant case he helped rectify, and he's already starting on the second month of the reports he needs to do. I also emailed you what Agent DiNozzo and I had decided as sanction for his mishandling of that case. He's whipped into line rather quickly. He understands exactly where he went wrong and is taking great steps to rectify it. I'm positive he will no longer be a problem."

"_That's good to hear. Has Agent DiNozzo made any decisions on replacement agents yet? I don't want my MCRT out of commission indefinitely."_

"We are going to discuss that at lunch today. I'll see what he's come up with."

"_Now, as to Officer David. When her suspension is up, you will find her a nice, boring position in a non-critical area. She will no longer be a field agent, I'm pulling her credentials and knocking her security clearance down to level one. I don't care if she's a janitor, she has proven that she cannot be trusted."_

"Secretary Davenport! I think her skills could be put to use, perhaps in counter-intelligence…"

"_You don't seriously think I would allow someone who has already sold out this country to have access to the sensitive information that department handles, do you?"_

"No, sir."

"_Good! I was beginning to wonder about you Director. You do make a good point about her skills though. I understand she is a master at hand-to-hand combat and her shooting skills are impressive?"_

"Yes, sir! Her skills are impressive, perhaps we cold use her to train other agents?"

"_My thoughts exactly! I believe Jethro Gibbs has a rule to that effect?"_

"Rule #5: You don't waste good."

"_Good rule. Jenny, you realize I've bent as far as I am willing to regarding this situation with Ziva David, don't you?"_

"I do sir, and I appreciate it. I know you don't have to do anything for her, just this much will help greatly. I believe she is worth salvaging."

"_And I trust your judgment Jenny, that's the only reason she is still employed with us."_

"One more thing, Mr. Secretary, Gibbs is back in town. I saw him last night and he is looking well. I don't know yet if he wants to come back, but I thought you should know."

"_I trust you will require him to jump through the appropriate hoops if he does decide to come back?"_

"Most certainly sir, we'll find a place for him if he wants us to."

"_Has he made his peace with Agent DiNozzo yet?"_

"Sir?"

"_Come now Jenny, you don't get to be in my position without knowing things."_

"Peace has been made sir."

"_Good. I hope Tony made groveling a requirement for that peace."_

"I believe groveling was involved, sir."

"_Good man! As pleasant as this has been, I must go. Always a meeting to attend."_

"Of course, sir and thank you again."

"_Thank you, Jenny! I'm going to be watching your exchange with Eli again tonight. Better entertainment than what's on TV! Have a good day director."_

"You too, Mr. Secretary."

Jenny put down her phone, leaned back in her chair and let out a big breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Ziva, you don't know how lucky you are." She remarked to herself.

_AND he knows about Tony and Jethro and seems okay with it! _She thought. She shook her head and chuckled to herself. _Wonders will never cease. _She thought as she went back to the last of her paperwork.

She decided to take a half-day and not come back after her lunch with Tony and Jethro. She could use a long, hot soak in her tub this afternoon. The thought of that put a smile on her face as she continued working.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva pulled into Gibbs' driveway and shut off her car. She sat for a minute staring at the house and gripping the steering wheel. She had never before been so nervous in her life. What would he do? Whatever it was would be justified. She had lied to him and undermined his relationship with both Tony and Jenny. She took a deep breath and made her way into the house.

Ziva walked in hesitantly and found Gibbs sitting at the dining table reading the paper. He looked much calmer and in control than he had yesterday morning. She just hoped that whatever he had put in motion could be stopped.

Gibbs put the paper aside and studied Ziva as she sat down. She looked like she had been pulled through a knothole. Whatever happened had shaken her up quite a bit. Let's see what that is.

"So?" He pinned her with a look. "Why did you want me to stop?"

She swallowed nervously and began. "I was not truthful in what I told you yesterday."

"How so?" He asked, his gaze never wavering.

"The events…did not happen in the way I said they happened." She slowly started.

"What are you telling me, Ziva?" He asked with more force and more glare.

"I lied to you." She said in a small voice while bowing her head.

"Why did you lie to me?" He asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. She had expected shouting by now.

"I was angry at the director and Tony for pointing out my mistakes and insisting I correct them." She stated.

"Anything else?" He asked her while continuing that penetrating stare.

She began to fidget in her chair, now she understood how he was so effective in interrogation. "No." she told him and looked away.

"Hey! Look at me!" He barked out.

She jumped and returned her gaze to Gibbs. He was not calm now, he looked really mad. She could no longer look away from him.

"So, you come in here yesterday and tell me this big story about Tony and the director having an inappropriate relationship and picking on you and Tim, just because they can, is that right?" He sarcastically asked her.

"Yes." She felt like she wanted to melt through the floor to escape, but she couldn't.

His gaze took on a mocking smirk as he continued. "You told me this tall tale because you thought I was weak. You thought I wasn't all there and you were hoping to squash any flickering attraction between me and Tony." She gasped at this and his smirk widened. "Oh, you thought I didn't remember any of that, didn't you? Sorry, it's all still there." He told her as he leaned forward a little and tapped the side of his head.

He leaned back in the chair as she paled. He continued, smirk still in place, "Yes, Tony and I had quite a talk yesterday. You've been a very bad agent, Ziva and you lead Tim down your destructive path and now you both have to pay for it."

Ziva swallowed again. He knew everything and, wait, he never believed anything I said yesterday! I do not deserve this job. I cannot read people and I obviously allow others to read me easily.

She was so lost in these thoughts, she was not aware of Tony moving up behind her and was startled when he sat in the chair next to her, facing her.

Her face flushed red at having been caught, but she held his gaze.

"Ziva, do you understand now what you did?" He asked her.

"I do. I am a liability. I am surprised you have not fired me before now, both of you." She turned and looked at Gibbs and then back at Tony.

She lifted her chin up and looked directly at him. "I apologize for treating you the way I did. I knew your background and qualifications and chose to ignore them. I thought I knew more, I was mistaken and I underestimated you. I am truly sorry."

Tony stared back at her for a full minute, but her gaze never wavered.

He finally nodded once and said, "I accept your apology, but it won't change what has happened and what needs to happen now." He told her.

"I understand." She answered.

"You better go, so you're not late. You have a lot of reports to get though." Tony said to her. "We'll talk later."

She took a deep shuddering breath and stood up. "Thank you both for all you've tried to teach me."

Both men nodded to her and watched as she made her way back out to her car and drove away.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony leaned back in his chair and said up to the ceiling, "Well, of all the things that could have happened, that was probably the last one I could have expected." He scrubbed his hands over his face and sat up again as Jethro came around to sit in the chair next to him.

Jethro leaned forward and placed his hands on Tony's knees. "Are you okay?" He asked with a deeply concerned look on his face.

Tony smiled back at him and ran his left hand through Jethro's hair, "I am. Are you okay with what's about to happen?" He asked Jethro.

"I am okay with whatever you need to do. She shouldn't be a field agent anymore." He replied while nuzzling his face into Tony's hand.

Tony exhaled loudly and said, "No, she shouldn't. Maybe we can find something else for her to do. I hate to send her packing when she's finally starting to come around." He said sadly.

"It's not your fault baby, you did everything you could. We'll talk to Jenny at lunch, maybe she has some ideas." Jethro stood and pulled Tony up next to him for a kiss. Tony melted into him and wrapped his arms around Jethro. They parted only when they both had to breathe.

"Mmm, I needed that." Tony purred while laying his head on Jethro's shoulder.

"I think we should eat before we both collapse." Jethro mumbled into his neck. "The adrenalin rush has worn off and I'm starved!"

Tony chuckled and stood upright again. "Can't have my man hungry!" He exclaimed. "They might revoke my Italian card for that!" He smiled.

It was Jethro's turn to laugh. "Well, we can't have that, because I really love my Italian Stallion!" Remarked Jethro as he squeezed Tony's ass playfully.

Tony let out a decidedly unmanly squeak when Jethro grabbed his ass that caused Jethro to laugh harder. "C'mon Trigger, let's go grab some breakfast!" He said as he pulled away to turn off the coffee maker and lock up again.

Tony smiled back lovingly and said, "Better grab some clothes too. I may ravage you before lunch, you'll need them." He added.

Jethro smiled a big smile and raced upstairs to grab some clothes and was back down in under 2 minutes. Tony met him at the bottom of the stairs with another kiss and a pinch to the ass that had Jethro squeaking this time.

Tony danced away laughing as Jethro aimed a head slap in his direction and then raced out the door to Jethro's truck. Jethro grabbed his bag and locked up again while shaking his head.

_Yeah, life is so good! _He thought smiling as he jumped in the truck and they took off to find breakfast.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**ADDITIONAL WARNING: Very, very, very mild BDSM with the boys in this one. If that offends you, skip the 3****rd**** segment down, it won't effect the story and you'll get the gist in later segments below.**

**Again, thank you to all Guest reviewers, I wish the site allowed individual responses to them, but it does not. Thanks again! :-)**

**A/N: Yeah, I know, I know you all wanted me to pull out Ziva's fingernails, but the muse did not head in that direction - this time! I can almost guarantee that she will suffer in future stories. Well, maybe not the fingernails thing, that's pretty nasty :-(**** Okay, back to the show - Enjoy! ****;-)**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tony and Jethro quickly drove to a small restaurant about a block from Tony's apartment and got their breakfast to go. They were back in Tony's apartment and eating by 8:00am.

"This is good. Have we ever gone to this place before?" Jethro asked him.

"No. They only opened this summer." Tony looked down at his food and got quiet.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Jethro asked when he noticed Tony's mood change.

Tony sighed quietly. "I was planning on taking you to this place before you got blown up. I'm glad we finally got to eat there together." He answered with a small smile. "Who knows," he continued, "Maybe we'll actually get to eat inside the restaurant one of these days." He finished with a bigger smile.

Jethro leaned forward and lightly cuffed Tony's head. "Smartass!" He smiled back. "I thought you had other plans for this morning?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I do!" Tony replied with glittering eyes. "Are you almost done?" He asked innocently.

Jethro's eyes darkened as he saw the desire flare in Tony's eyes. He didn't say anything, he just started eating a little faster, still watching Tony.

Tony chuckled quietly and went back to leisurely eating his breakfast. Jethro quickly finished and leaned back in his chair watching Tony with an intense gaze. Tony lowered his eyes to his food and filled his fork again, deliberately slow. He put the fork in his mouth and then equally slowly removed it, all the while locking eyes with Jethro. He smiled to himself when he saw Jethro squirm in his chair.

He lowered his gaze to his plate again and said, "Put your dishes in the sink, go in the bedroom, get naked, lay on the bed and wait for me." He said in a husky voice. He sat back and watched as Jethro jumped up as if he were on a spring and smiled as he rushed over to the sink and started out of the kitchen.

He waited until he was almost out the door before calling out, "Jethro?" in a quiet voice. He was pleased when Jethro stopped immediately and whirled around to face him, almost vibrating with desire. "On your stomach, don't touch yourself." He instructed. He saw Jethro's eyes go impossibly darker as he nodded once and fled to the bedroom.

Tony smiled to himself as he finished the rest of his breakfast. _Oh, he had missed this! _he thought. _Who would think that the poster boy for Alpha males loved to be controlled in bed? Huh, maybe that's why he joined the Marines. I wonder if he went through boot camp with a hard-on? _he mused, tilting his head to the side. He shrugged and finished up his meal. He got up and stretched before taking his dishes to the sink.

He decided to prolong it a little and washed the dishes in the sink before taking care of Jethro. He was glad Jethro wasn't into anything too heavy, he just liked giving up control and letting his partner _direct_ the lovemaking. Even though neither one of them minded being tied up once in a while (mainly with a tie to the headboard), Tony had no plans for that. They rarely did that, usually only after a particularly hard case. Tony knew Jethro liked to test his endurance so he would prolong the foreplay as long as possible, like now. It was an incredible rush for Tony to have Jethro trust him that much, knowing Tony would never hurt him and would make it feel so good for him.

He was smiling fondly to himself as he finished up the dishes and dried his hands. He then set his phone alarm for 11am, he knew they would be too out of it when they were finished and Jenny was coming for lunch. He made a circuit around the apartment, making sure the door was double bolted and the curtains drawn before facing the hallway down to the bedroom. He took a deep breath to calm himself, because this was all about Jethro. When he felt grounded and able to handle himself, he walked down the hall and opened the door to the bedroom.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva spent the ride into NCIS in deep thought.

_I used to be able to handle things. That was before I had seen and done all the things I had to in Mossad. I did not realize how far I had slipped away from myself. Mossad was never my choice, it was always abba's. He made me feel guilty for wanting something different, so I gave in and did all he asked._

_Who would ask their child to do the things he has required of me?_

_Maybe that is why I have felt safe with Gibbs, he would never do such a thing to his child._

Ziva wiped angry tears from her face as she neared the Yard.

_Why could I have not had a father such as him? _She pounded on the steering wheel as this thought surfaced. _My life would have been so different! I would not be in this mess!_

_No._

She calmed as she thought about that. If her life had been different she most likely would have never met these people. She was profoundly grateful that she had met them. They were her way back to herself. She had no doubt that all she had to do was ask, and they would help her. Why had she not seen this before?

She showed her badge as she entered the gate and was waved through. She was sad to note the guard seemed afraid of her. That was not the way she had wanted to be or to be seen as.

_No. I cannot change the past, but I can change now. I will get that part of myself that I had lost, back. I can and I will make this work. _She hoped it was not too late.

Ziva pulled into her spot in the parking lot and checked herself in the mirror. Her hair was in place and the tears she had shed on the way in had been swept away. She was happy to see a clear look in her eyes, something she had not seen in a long time. After giving herself a little smile, that got bigger when she saw how genuine it looked on her, she gathered her things and made her way into the building.

McGee was already hard at work and Franklin and Balboa had switched places. Balboa was now at Gibbs' desk and Franklin at Tony's. She was a little disconcerted when she noticed all three men tense up considerably when she walked in. As recent as yesterday that reaction would have pleased her greatly, but not today. Today, she felt ashamed at the reaction her presence in a room brought about.

No one was ever happy to see her.

Unlike Tony, McGee or Abby or any number of other people she could think of, who always invoked smiles when they entered a room. When she entered, others thought of the quickest routes to leave. That realization saddened her and hardened her resolve to fix this.

"Good morning McGee, Agent Balboa, Agent Franklin." She addressed them. All three men looked up at her and were surprised and not a little suspicious of her calm, seemingly happy demeanor.

Balboa and Franklin said, "Morning." together at nearly the same time and McGee mumbled, "Morning, Ziva." as she smiled back at them and sat to boot up her computer. She said nothing more and got right down to her reports. All three men looked at one another and then McGee went back to his reports with a confused look on his face. Franklin raised an eyebrow at Balboa who shrugged in response. They both then looked back at Ziva, who was working away and did not appear angry or disgruntled in any way. They both shook their heads and went back to their work a little less tense than they were before, but still alert for any storm clouds that might pop up.

Jenny Shepherd had watched the exchange from the balcony outside her office and smiled to herself at the change in Ziva. She took a deep breath and went back inside her office. She would tell Tony at lunch about what had happened and what the SecNav told her about Ziva's status. She made the executive decision to hold off getting her badge and gun until Tony was present and they could explain it to her together.

_Maybe I should have Gibbs sit in on the meeting too. _She thought to herself. _If things go south with Ziva, I think the three of us could handle it._ She mused.

There was a knock on her door and then Cynthia popped her head in.

"Director, your driver told me he dropped you back off here last night, did you stay all night?" She asked her.

"Yes, Cynthia. Pressing matters that needed attending. I will be leaving at 11:30 for lunch, could you make sure Greg and Marcus are informed? Also, since I was here all night and pretty much caught up on all paperwork, I won't be returning today. You can also take the rest of the day off if you want, Cynthia." She informed her.

"Thank you Director! I think I will take the afternoon off. I was just going to get some breakfast, did you want anything ma'am?" The young woman asked her.

"Maybe a bagel and some of that wonderful cappuccino where you get yours?" She asked as she handed Cynthia some money. "Thank you."

"You're welcome ma'am, be back in about 15 minutes." She replied as she left again, closing the door.

Jenny sent an email to Franklin and Balboa that she wanted to see one of them in her office at 11:15am, they could choose who came as long as the other stayed on the floor with McGee and David. She got a response saying Balboa would be up as Cynthia came back with her cappuccino and bagel, lightly toasted with strawberry jam, just as she liked it.

"I don't know what I'd do without you Cynthia, Thank you." She told her smiling.

"My pleasure ma'am. I'll be at my desk if you need me." She smiled back in response and then again closed the door as she returned to work.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony sucked in an involuntary air as he took in the scene before him.

Jethro was naked, on his stomach with his legs spread, one bent at the knee. His head was on a pillow that he had clutched in both hands to keep from touching himself as ordered. His head was turned towards the door, but his eyes were closed. Tony knew he wasn't sleeping, he was just trying to control himself.

Tony stepped all the way into the room and then closed the door behind him. He stood for a full minute, just taking in Jethro's naked form. His well-sculpted body and that beautiful, gorgeous ass. Tony licked his lips at the sight and dragged his eyes back up to Jethro's face when he heard a sharp intake of breath at his action. He was happy to see Jethro's eyes now open and watching him intently.

_Good. _Tony thought, because the anticipation was almost as good as the sex, itself.

Almost.

Tony detoured to the bathroom to grab a towel and moved back to the bed. He kept his gaze locked with Jethro's as he slowly removed his own clothing. He had a small smile on his face during the whole process that only increased when Jethro's breathing sped up when his rock hard erection was revealed. Tony's eyes took on a hooded appearance as he wrapped his hand around his own cock and started stroking slowly up and down while running his tongue out to sensuously wet his lips.

He heard a low groan from Jethro as he took in the show and he squirmed on the bed to ease his own engorged cock, trapped beneath him. Tony chuckled as he sauntered over to the bed to stand right next to it. His hand stroking his cock was now right next to Jethro's face and Tony saw Jethro's lips were parted and he was making a soft, panting noise.

"Very sexy." He commented as he watched Jethro's tongue dart out to moisten his own parched lips while he watched Tony.

"I think," Tony commented as he let go of himself and brought his hand up to his own mouth to lick off the pre-come that had smeared on it, "that you have the sexiest ass I've ever seen." He purred as he finished licking off his own come to the sounds of Jethro's moans. His squirming on the bed was becoming more pronounced too as he tried to ease the ache of his own erection.

Tony's hand shot out and delivered two quick slaps, one to each of Jethro's ass cheeks, that reddened them slightly. Tony smiled at the loud moan that produced from Jethro and then bent down so he was whispering directly into Jethro's ear, "I don't think I said you could move like that, did I?" He asked in a husky voice as he caressed Jethro's reddened ass.

Jethro moaned out a soft _"nooo." _That earned him another two quick smacks to his ass.

"I didn't hear you, Marine!" Tony barked out as Jethro's training took over and he quickly replied, "No, Sir!" Tony could see Jethro was struggling to maintain any semblance of discipline and thought it would not be too long before they pulled each other over the edge.

He leaned back in and licked the sensitive area right below Jethro's ear as the man took in another sharp breath at this action. "All I want to hear is your moans and you screaming out my name as you come, do you understand?" He whispered while again caressing Jethro's ass.

Jethro moaned in response and Tony smiled at his acquiescence. He stood up saying, "Good boy." that got another groan from Jethro.

Tony took his cock in hand and gathered the pre-come once again, only this time bringing his fingers to Jethro's mouth. Jethro immediately suckled on the fingers, lapping up any trace of Tony's come from them. The sight of this pulled a moan out of Tony too and his cock jerked. Tony pulled his fingers from Jethro's mouth and leaned down to kiss him tenderly on the cheek.

He moved back some and grabbed the lube from the nightstand before climbing up on the bed and moving between Jethro's spread legs. He then draped himself over Jethro's back. His hard cock was now pillowed between Jethro's ass cheeks and Tony could feel the heat his spanking had caused. This caused both men to moan loudly as the sensations heightened. Tony held himself up on one hand and leaned down to place a kiss at the base of Jethro's neck. He could feel Jethro struggling to not wiggle underneath him and he said softly, "Soon, love, very soon." as he kissed his way down Jethro's spine. He felt Jethro shudder beneath him in anticipation. He moved down the bed so he could play with Jethro's lovely ass again. He settled back on his knees and used both hands to knead and run his hands over those two perfect globes. He smiled as Jethro whimpered into the pillow.

He then moved up and straddled Jethro's hips, settling down so his cock was once again pillowed in Jethro's fevered ass and leaning down to run his fingers through Jethro's soft hair, massaging his scalp. Jethro took in a deep breath and released it as he tried to relax into Tony's ministrations. He then moved down to his shoulders and started working in earnest.

Another loud moan escaped Jethro's lips as Tony worked every knot of tension out of him. He felt Jethro loosen beneath him and moved down his back to work his sides and then all the way down his spine. He heard little pops and cracks and smiled proudly at the relieved moans now coming from Jethro. He lifted himself up and moved down the bed again so he could continue his massage down Jethro's right leg and up this left. He took extra care with each foot massage, eliciting another round of appreciative moans.

He removed his hands and said, "On your back, Marine!" and Jethro quickly complied, laying his head back on the pillow and sporting an impressive erection. Tony moved up, massaging Jethro's face, neck and both arms before starting on his chest. His talented hands were reducing Jethro to a puddle on the bed. He was still hard and had drops of pre-come on the tip of his cock, but Tony could tell he had messaged the urgency out of him. He worked on his abs and hips, skirting his cock and then moved up and down both legs again.

He finished by kneeling on the bed between Jethro's legs with his hands resting on Jethro's thighs. "How do you feel, Marine?" he asked in a silky voice.

The only response was a dreamy, "Mmmm…" from Jethro and Tony's mouth quirked in a smile. "That's good." He continued in that silky voice before ordering, "Flip over and get on your knees Marine, I want to see that gorgeous ass in the air, legs spread!" Jethro's eyes popped open and he quickly flipped over again and got into the position Tony wanted.

Tony's breath again caught in his throat as the view he now had threatened to undo him. Jethro's face was in the pillow and he had it again clutched in his hands. That lovely back was curved up and his beautiful ass was in the air, legs spread wide, waiting for Tony to take him. Tony clutched the base of his own cock to hold off coming just at the sight before him. He spread the towel on the bed beneath Jethro and then moved up between his legs and again messaged his ass as Jethro moaned into the pillow.

Tony popped the top on the lube and spread a liberal amount on his fingers. He placed a soft kiss on his still red ass cheek as he inserted a finger into him. Jethro again moaned deeply and pushed back a little on Tony's finger. Tony responded by kissing the other red ass cheek and inserting two more fingers, stretching him quickly. Jethro moaned louder and pushed back, fucking himself on Tony's fingers. Tony removed his fingers and quickly spread a generous amount of lube on his dripping cock and moved up into position behind Jethro.

He ran his hands down Jethro's flanks as he savored the sight before him. This strong, sexy man spread open, waiting for him to take him and waiting for permission to come on his orders. The depth of love and emotion and trust he was currently experiencing was intoxicating. He could not get enough of this man! He lined himself up and placed one hand on the small of his back, while the other guided his cock inside Jethro. Jethro's moan when he was finally all the way in and filling him completely was deep and throaty. He felt Jethro's velvet tightness gripping his cock as he clenched his inner muscles. Tony gasped and he knew Jethro was smiling into his pillow at his reaction. "_Always the Alpha." _he thought fondly.

He smacked Jethro's bottom again, one for each cheek earning another loud moan and leaned down over Jethro's back to whisper, "Better tone it down, you don't have my permission to come yet." He felt, both under his hands and in his cock, the ripple that went through Jethro's body. He then straightened and pulled his cock nearly all the way out again before slamming home, lifting Jethro's knees off the bed with the force of his thrust. This action resulted in another loud moan that ignited Tony's passion.

He set up a brutal rhythm with his thrusts, lifting Jethro's knees off the bed on each down stroke with the force of the pounding he was giving Jethro's ass. Jethro was gripping his pillow tightly and moaning continuously as he pushed back as much as he could into Tony's thrusts. The angle of Tony's thrusts hitting Jethro's prostate on every stroke, sending him even deeper into bliss.

Tony knew Jethro's body well, so he knew when Jethro was coming to the end of his endurance. He wriggled his hips in a certain way and his moans took on that certain note of desperation that Tony understood as the end of holding back. He leaned forward, still maintaining his thrusts, and snaked a hand around Jethro's waist to grasp his leaking cock and said, "Come for me, Jethro." Jethro immediately screamed out, "TONY!" as he completely let himself go. Tony felt Jethro spurting into his hand and onto the towel on the bed as his inner muscles clenched him tightly and he roared his own release with "JETHRO!" screaming from his lips.

Tony felt him collapsing beneath him, and he caught himself with his hand before he crushed Jethro and finished his orgasm with little thrusts deep inside him. They were both breathing heavily as Tony gently extracted himself from Jethro and flopped down on his back next to him.

Jethro immediately snuggled into him and Tony ran his hands over Jethro's back and softly patted his ass, which was still warm from Tony's spanking.

"Love you, Jethro." Tony said into his hair.

Jethro pulled back enough to look up at Tony and Tony smiled at the sleepy blue eyes looking back at him. "Love you too Tony, thanks." He said before burrowing down again to try and get even closer to Tony. Tony held him tighter and managed to get the comforter back over them as they fell into a light doze. They would be sticky when they got up, but right now neither one cared. They both drifted off, smiles firmly fixed on their faces.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

All four agents in the bullpen worked silently and without any drama. The only semi-tense moment came when Ziva rose to take finished reports to Franklin. He looked up and just said, "Please give them to Balboa today, David." She nodded her head and walked them over to Vince who had his hand out waiting. She handed them over and asked him if she could use the restroom. He nodded his okay and she walked off. She came back a few minutes later and went right back to her reports without another word or complaint. Tim had watched the whole proceedings with a furrowed brow. When Ziva resumed her reports, he got up and took the last two weeks of the second month of his own to Franklin.

He stood at Tony's desk after handing them over, looking to be in deep thought.

"Thank you McGee." Franklin said and got a distracted "Uh-huh." in response. He traded smiles with Balboa as McGee continued standing next to the desk. "You can sit down again, McGee." Franklin told him.

He replied, "Okay." and went back to his desk with a puzzled expression on his face. Both Balboa and Franklin looked at each other and shook their heads smiling as they went back to their own work.

About a half hour later Balboa stood up and Franklin nodded his head once in acknowledgement, it was time to see the director.

Balboa stopped at Ziva's desk with one file that he handed to her when she looked up.

"Good job on the reports, Ziva. The only correction you need on this one is the dates, you have the year as 2003 instead of 2006, just a typo, otherwise good to go." Balboa told her.

Both Franklin and McGee held their breath waiting for her reply.

When her only response was a nod of her head and her saying, "I will correct that immediately." They both let out the breaths they had been holding in. It appeared Ziva had finally seen the light and had decided to cooperate.

Balboa, satisfied with her answer, turned and made his way up the stairs to the director's office with a slight raising of his eyebrows to Franklin as he walked past him.

Vince Balboa greeted the director's assistant with a cheery "Good Morning, Cynthia! I'm here for my 11:15 meeting with the director."

"Good morning Agent Balboa, go right in, you're expected." She replied while smiling back at him.

He knocked once and entered the director's office to find her putting files into her briefcase.

"Good morning Vince, please take a seat. So, how have things been this morning?" She asked as she settled back in her chair.

"Quiet and very agreeable." He replied, shaking his head. "I don't know what you said to her last night director, but it sure left an impression, she's a different person today."

"Yes, I saw when she came in. How are the reports?" She asked him.

"Actually, very good. She's starting the first week of the second month and she only had a typo mistake in one report in the last stack she gave me." He told her.

"How did she handle that?" the director asked.

"I'd have to say professionally. Just said okay, I'll fix it right away and went back to work, no muss, no fuss." He answered with a smile.

"I have to say though, the new Ziva is seriously messing up McGee." He added as his smile got bigger.

"How so?" She asked.

"He's not sure what's going on. Now granted, all three of us were waiting for her to explode any minute when she first came in, but since that did not happen and doesn't look like it will, the puzzled furrows in his brow just keep getting deeper and deeper." He laughed.

"Poor McGee, his world just gets stranger every day, doesn't it?" she laughed.

"Well, I'm glad she's left the arrogant attitude at home and has decided to act like an adult. SecNav has been aware of what's been going on and there will be more big changes coming for her, I just hope she's smart enough to recognize the second chance she's getting." the director replied.

"Anything we need to know, director?" he asked her in a serious voice.

"Not now, as long as she keeps behaving herself." She answered as Balboa nodded back at her.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes to meet with Tony for an update. I then have meetings this afternoon so I won't be back in. Call me if you need anything." She informed him as she rose from her chair.

"Will do director, and say hi to Tony for me and Ted." Vince replied, also standing to leave.

"Oh and Vince?" the director called just before he reached the door.

"Ma'am?" He questioned when he turned around.

"If the reports are going well, let them both leave at a decent hour. Everyone has had a very stressful week and could use a little downtime." She told him.

"Yes, ma'am!" He nodded with a smile and then he was out the door.

The director gathered her things and followed him out to speak with Cynthia.

"Cynthia, there's a stack of mail on my desk that needs to go out today. Please drop it off on your way out?" She told her.

"Of course, ma'am! Do you need anything else?" She asked as she stood to retrieve the mail.

"Not at all, have a good weekend Cynthia!" She said as she turned and walked out.

"You too, ma'am!" Cynthia smiled back at her.

Jenny walked along the balcony above the bullpen and observed everyone working quietly and efficiently. She took the back elevator so she would not have to walk through the bullpen and maybe upset the calm that was now settled over them.

She thought of everything that had transpired just today as she rode down to the parking garage in the elevator. She really didn't know how Tony would react to what the SecNav ordered. She was pretty sure he would be relieved, but there was always the chance he would be upset the choice was taken out of his hands. Then there was the whole espionage thing she had to tell him. She sighed deeply. She was really going to need her bathtub after this lunch.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jethro awoke to the sound of Tony's phone beeping loudly. He groaned and buried his face in Tony's neck as the damn thing kept making noise. Tony chuckled and kissed the top of his head as he extracted himself from Jethro's embrace and got up to turn off his phone.

Jethro moved to lie on his back and watched as Tony bent down to retrieve the phone from his pants on the floor. Tony straightened up turning off the phone and caught Jethro checking out his ass.

"Oh, no Marine! Jenny is coming for lunch, we have to throw the bed linens in the wash but first we have to shower, so get that cute ass moving!" He was smiling as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Jethro laughed as he stretched. Boy, he felt good! That massage and their lovemaking energized him. He winced a little as he sat up on the edge of the bed. His ass, inside and out, was a little sore, but it was a good ache. Jethro stood and rubbed a hand over his tender ass. He sighed to himself as he remembered the feel of Tony pounding into him after first warming his ass.

How could he have ever forgotten this?

He had never felt this safe with anyone before. He had been with other men, but he had never been on the bottom before Tony. He trusted Tony to take care of him, and he never let him down. A surge of happiness raced through him as he again thanked anyone listening above for giving him this chance. He would never let Tony down again. His smile increased as he relived every moment of their last lovemaking session.

Jethro turned around and started stripping the bed to throw the linens in the wash. He didn't notice a freshly showered Tony leaning on the doorjamb leading to the bathroom with a towel around his waist, watching him. He piled everything in the middle of the floor and then looked up to see Tony smiling at him. His smile only grew bigger as he stalked over to Tony and pressed his naked body against Tony's partially clothed one and kissed him deeply.

He leaned back and rested his hands on Tony's hips as Tony's hands cupped his ass. He winced as Tony squeezed it and an evil look manifested itself on Tony's face.

"A little sore, Gunny?" He asked in a low, husky voice.

Jethro focused his gaze on Tony's chest, shrugged and replied, "A little, but I asked for it. I think I needed it." He finished and moved his right hand up to gently caress Tony's chest.

He didn't see the loving gaze that softened Tony's features as Tony moved his hands up and pulled Jethro close to him, while Tony whispered in his ear, "I think we both needed it. You needed to let go and I needed to take control, we're a perfect match." he said while placing a kiss on Jethro's temple.

Jethro sighed in contentment and just snuggled into Tony's arms, he felt very safe. They cuddled for about a minute before Tony pulled back to search Jethro's face. Seeing nothing but satisfied contentment in it, he smiled a bright smile and leaned in to kiss Jethro on the cheek as he told him, "Go take a shower Marine while I make us all some lunch." He got a return kiss on his own cheek and a sweet boyish grin before Jethro pulled away and went into the bathroom. Tony couldn't wipe the smile off his own face if he tried. He hummed a Dean Martin tune as he dressed and then went out to the kitchen to make lunch.

He threw together a quick salad and had started assembling sandwiches when he heard Jethro starting the laundry. He would warm the soup when the director got here, it didn't take long. He smiled as strong arms encircled him from behind and Jethro rested his chin on Tony's left shoulder to watch his progress. Tony adjusted for the additional body attached to his back and quickly finished them up. Jethro pulled away long enough for Tony to put the ingredients and the covered plate of sandwiches away in the fridge before he pulled Tony back to him and kissed him deeply.

Tony had a dreamy look on his face when the kiss finished and Jethro lead him easily along and into the living room. He sat on the couch where Jethro pushed him down and held Jethro close when he also sat, very close and nuzzled his face into Tony's neck. Tony sighed happily and closed his eyes as he basked in the closeness and safety while they waited for the director to arrive.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd rang Tony's doorbell at two minutes to twelve. She heard slight movement inside and then the door opened to reveal both men waiting for her. She smiled as Tony took her coat. It had started raining again on the way over. It reflected her mood perfectly.

"Jen. What's up?" Gibbs asked her as soon as they made their way to the dining table.

_Always direct. _She thought before answering, "Change of plans. A few things have happened that you need to be aware of."

Tony came back in from the kitchen and placed bowls of soup before her and Gibbs and said once, "Jethro." Jenny watched as Gibbs immediately got up and followed him into the kitchen. They came back in less than a minute with another bowl of soup for Tony and Tony was carrying a tray of delicious looking sandwiches. Gibbs had a salad bowl and a selection of dressings. Tony then asked her what she would like to drink and she and Gibbs settled on coffee. Tony went back into the kitchen with a knowing smile on his face and came back out almost immediately with their coffee and a water for himself. Tony settled at the round table to her right, while Gibbs sat across from her.

They all started on their soup and then Tony asked, "What did she do?"

Jenny sighed as she told both men about the confrontation with Franklin last night and her talk with Ziva afterward. Gibbs looked troubled, but said nothing. Tony had an unreadable expression on his face and asked her, "Is what he said true?"

"Yes." She replied. "Ziva had been losing control for quite some time before the op with Ari. She seemed to have lost all sense of empathy. Eli talked to me right after I was appointed director of NCIS and asked me if there was a place here for her. He thought she needed to get away from Mossad, he saw his daughter disappearing before him." Both men nodded understanding as she went on. "There was more to it though. Eli just couldn't pass up the chance to take advantage." She said disgustedly.

Gibbs straightened further in his chair and a hard look came into Tony's eyes. She fortified herself with a deep breath before she went on.

"He tasked her with getting any information she could about the Navy and Marines and sending it back to him." She told them. She could tell both men were angry, but did not seem surprised.

"What did she send?" Tony asked in a quiet, deadly voice.

"Nothing of consequence." She replied. "She wasn't able to access much because of the restrictions the SecNav and I put in place." She finished with a smile.

Gibbs wore a proud smile, but Tony still had a deadly serious look on his face. "So, you knew this might happen and blocked her from seeing anything sensitive, at home too?" He asked her. She was impressed he had figured them out so quickly, but that was who he was and what he did. He continued after she nodded yes to him. "She still engaged in espionage, controlled or not. She cannot work for us. Will there be jail time?" He asked, looking sad.

"No." Phil and I structured her surveillance to include Eli never receiving anything she might send him. She only recently sent one envelope and it was intercepted and is in my possession." She saw both men relax slightly at that news.

"Phil has come to the end regarding her work with us, however. She will be suspended for three and a half months when she finishes the reports she neglected to do for the past three and a half months." She told them, giving Tony a pointed look. He nodded, understanding the symbolic suspension time. "He has already pulled her credentials, she will no longer be a field agent or work with anything above level 1 security clearance. We talked a little and he agreed she did have considerable talents, so we thought training in hand to hand combat and shooting skills for agents would be an appropriate use for her."

She was pleased to see both men relax considerably and nod once at each other at this news. She was a little puzzled by this until they related Ziva's early morning visit to Gibbs' house and what had transpired there. She was actually pleased with this outcome. That, and Ziva's actions today at work, showed she too had come to the end and was willing to change to stay here. Both men were pleased with her attitude at work today and laughed at Tim's confusion.

"Poor Timmy! His world's really been rocked, hasn't it?" Tony laughed as Gibbs smiled with him.

"It certainly has, but I think he'll survive in the new world order." She laughed.

"Tony, have you been able to look at those personnel files or make any decisions regarding new team members?" Jenny asked.

"No. I've been a little preoccupied the last few days." Tony smiled down into his plate and then glanced over at Jethro through his eyelashes in a surprisingly shy gesture. Jenny looked at Jethro and saw a gentle, fond smile on his face as he looked over at Tony. Jenny was charmed by the actions of the two men and warmed by their obvious love for each other.

Tony raised his head again and looked over at Jenny. "I'll look them over this afternoon. I should have a pretty good idea who I want by tomorrow. Will you be in the office tomorrow director?"

"Yes, I will. I think we should wait until both Tim and Ziva are done with the reports before meeting with them regarding their sanctions." Jenny replied.

Tony was nodding his head as he said, "How far along are they?"

"Tim might even be done today. He was working on the first week of the third month when I left. If he doesn't finish today, it should be early tomorrow. Ziva was halfway through the second month. If she stays on track today, she should also be done tomorrow. By the way, Vince and Ted send their regards." She told him.

"Thanks! I think I owe them lunch and maybe dinner for a month for putting up with them." He commented. "Although, I don't think McGee has been that much of a problem, if at all."

"No. Our meeting with him on Wednesday seems to have done the trick, he's back on track" She told him.

"I hope so. Or he's really not gonna be happy when he comes back. Speaking of that, I wonder if we could just suspend Ziva at half pay while she's off? I think she deserves the time off, but I don't want to make her homeless in the process." Tony replied.

"I think that's reasonable, Tony. I also wanted to talk to you about that time off. You are not going to have a team for at while. The files I gave you of potential agents will not graduate from FLETC for another three weeks and McGee will be gone for a month. I think you deserve a break too, so how about you take those three weeks off and come back to meet your new agents?" Jenny proposed.

"Sounds really good, but you won't have an MCRT for three weeks?" Tony questioned.

"I can split the calls between Balboa's and Franklin's teams, you may owe them meals for six months." She smiled.

"Ok, that sounds really good." Tony sat back in his chair and relaxed even further.

"So, will you go somewhere with you time off or stick around?" Jenny asked him.

"Oh, I have a few ideas on things to do while I'm off." Tony replied with a mischievous look towards Jethro.

Jethro returned his look with a heated one of his own and said, "Yeah, I think we can manage."

Jenny swore the temperature of the room went up at least ten degrees with the sparks flying between the two men. Jenny knew it was almost time for her to take her leave, but she had one more topic to address before she did.

"What are your plans, Jethro?" She asked.

His head whipped around to meet her questioning gaze and he said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you going to stay retired or do you plan on coming back to NCIS? Because if you do, there are some things that you need to do first." She told him.

"Like what, director?" Jethro asked in a hard tone.

Tony lowered his eyes to the table and smiled to himself. _There he is. Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs just stepped into the room. _He thought.

"Like a physician, _not Ducky_, signing off on your medical health. Like a psychologist, _also not Ducky_, signing off on your mental health and you would have to re-qualify on the range and we would have to find a place for you, because the MCRT already has a capable leader!" She told him with an equally hard tone and a glare to rival his own.

His eyes flashed with anger for a few seconds before his features softened and he quirked a crooked smile at her. "Yeah, okay. I really haven't thought about it. My main goal in coming back here was Tony, and I think we're doing pretty good with that." His smile got bigger when Tony winked at him and just like that Agent Gibbs was gone and the sparks were back.

Jenny sighed exasperatedly and smiled to herself watching the two.

"Well, I guess that's my cue!" She told them as she gathered her things to leave. Tony, I will see you tomorrow and we will sort out Tim and maybe Ziva. Jethro, when you decide what you want to do, other than Tony, let me know and we'll talk." She smiled wickedly as Tony spit out the water he had taken a drink of and started coughing and Jethro turned a lovely shade of red.

Jenny laughed as she made her way to the door and retrieved her coat. Tony walked over to her with his mouth quirked and shaking his finger at her. "You," he admonished with a smile "are a very, very naughty director!" He kept smiling as he held the door for her as she made her way into the hall.

"Well, I couldn't resist, you two are just too cute together! Does Abby know you're back yet, Jethro?" She asked him as he walked up to stand next to Tony.

"No! Not yet." He answered and then looked to Tony.

Tony glanced at him before turning back to Jenny. "We'll tell her together, probably tomorrow night or Sunday."

"Fair enough. Thank you for a delicious lunch Tony, enjoy the rest of your day gentlemen." She smiled as she walked off down the hall.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Balboa looked at the clock on his computer and even though it was just a little after 1800 hours, decided to call it a day. McGee had finished the third month of his reports and he would have no trouble finishing up tomorrow when Tony was here. Ziva had also done very well. She was working on the second week of the third month and would also finish sometime tomorrow, both of them well before Sunday's 6pm deadline. He was also impressed with her accuracy and attention to details. She had only had two minor mistakes all day. Too bad she couldn't have done this right from the start.

"Okay people, pack it in for today. Be back bright and early at 0800 hours." He announced.

Both Ziva and McGee shut everything down and gathered their things.

"Good job today, both of you." Franklin added. Both junior agents seemed surprised at the unexpected compliment, but each nodded their thanks. Ziva walked a little ahead of McGee and both lead agents saw her tense as McGee kept walking past her and took the stairs so he wouldn't have to share an elevator with her. Her shoulders slumped a little as the door to the stairwell closed behind him and the elevator dinged it's arrival. She got on by herself without a word and was gone.

Balboa perched himself on the edge of Tony's desk with raised eyebrows.

"Well, that was interesting. I guess they're not partners in crime anymore!"

"Yeah, looks like McGee finally grew a pair." Franklin remarked. "Even if it was a little tense to start out, the quiet was nice and they both did good work today. She really only had two mistakes?" He asked Vince.

"Yeah, both minor too." Balboa told him. "I'd really like to know what the director said to her last night, because she was breathing fire when you got done with her!"

Franklin stretched back in Tony's chair and commented, "I do have a way with people, don't I?" he smiled up at Balboa.

"That you do. Sometimes you could give Gibbs a run for his money!" Vince replied.

"Thank you!" Franklin smiled brightly.

Balboa snorted and got up to shut down his own desk. "Only you would take that as a compliment!" He added while shaking his head. "I'm going to head over and check on my crew before I leave, see ya tomorrow!" He waved at Franklin as he walked away.

Franklin waved back and cleared off Tony's desk and shut it down before he checked on his team too. He took one last look at the quiet bullpen before heading off and thought, _"I know Tony and the director are going to hand out suspensions tomorrow. I hope it goes as well as today did." _When he disappeared around the corner, heading to his own area, the bullpen was again deserted and quiet. He wondered if it would ever again hold the life and laughter that it once did.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim McGee was almost sorry to leave. He only had another two weeks worth of reports to do. He should be done in about an hour in the morning. Maybe since they had left so early today, he would come in earlier and finish them before Tony got in. Then they could talk before Ziva showed up.

Ziva.

What was up with her today?

She was a different person! Not a bad thing, but really weird. He had been really surprised to get the compliment from Franklin when they left. He was sure neither of them would receive praise from _any_ supervisor for a long time.

He had been relieved when Ziva stopped at the elevator and he could escape down the stairs. He did _not_ want to spend any time alone with her. It's funny, he wasn't really afraid of her anymore, he was just still angry with himself for following her and he didn't want to say something he would regret. _Huh! Thinking before I speak, should have learned that years ago._ he chastised himself.

He dashed to his car through the rain and was driving out of the lot before Ziva came out of the building. He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and decided to stop for a sandwich on the way home. Maybe he'd watch a little TV tonight since it was so early. He knew the conversation with Tony tomorrow would not be pleasant, but he was eager to get it done. He settled into his couch when he got home and let the mindless chatter on the screen hypnotize him.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva was surprised by the compliment from Franklin, of all people, and felt some satisfaction as she made her way to the elevator. She had been meaning to talk to McGee on the way down and apologize for her actions, but he kept walking past her and took the stairs. She had tensed up when she realized what he was doing, and then the tension drained out of her all at once when she stepped into the empty elevator car.

"_He does not even want to share an elevator ride with me." _She thought dejectedly. She sighed as she realized it was nothing more than she deserved. She had treated him almost as poorly as she had treated Tony. She would find the time tomorrow to apologize personally to him. She doubted she would ever see him again after tomorrow. Once she was through with her reports, Tony would suspend her for her actions and would kick her off the team.

She walked slowly when the elevator deposited her on the ground floor and watched from the window as McGee ran to his car and left quickly in his haste to get away from her. She would not impose herself on him, she had put him through enough. She had no doubt he was also facing a suspension tomorrow too. Not that he didn't play his part, but she was the instigator.

She made herself some soup and had some tea when she got home, having gotten wet again on her way out of headquarters and then again on the way inside her building when the rain started coming down harder.

When she finished, she decided to read and retreated to her warm bed with a book. She fell asleep a few hours later with the book laying open beside her.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd had that long, hot bath she had so wanted when she finally got home. Her car had been stuck in snarled traffic because of the rain. She bid her two bodyguards goodnight and told them to be there at 6:30am.

Her mind contemplated the mess that had become the MCRT, but she knew it would right itself. She thought Tony would probably take Tim back onto the team and she had no doubt Mr. McGee would not make the same mistakes again! Tony would pick the best agents to fit into the team and would keep things rolling.

She wondered about Jethro and what to do with him, when he decided to come back. Hmm, if he could control himself from chasing off new agents, maybe she could have two MCRT teams. A nice dream, but she didn't think either Tony or Jethro would work without the other if they didn't have to but she wasn't about to let Tony take a demotion just to have Jethro back at work. Well, that brought up more interesting possibilities, she would have to investigate that further tomorrow.

She thought of contacting Reilly, who headed the training department tomorrow to get him up to speed on Ziva. He was a former Marine drill sergeant and would take no attitude from her. She thought that maybe the attitude had finally melted away. She had not missed the sad look that passed over Ziva's face this morning at McGee, Balboa and Franklin's reaction to her.

She hoped it was genuine, because she could very easily be sitting in Gitmo at this very minute. She would have to impress that reality upon her in their meeting tomorrow.

She finished her soak and had a lovely dinner of coq au vin that Noemi prepared expertly and retired early. Tomorrow would be a trying day and she wanted to be well rested for it.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony had tried to read through the agent personnel files, really he had, but Jethro was having none of it.

Tony had originally sat at the dining room table with the files while Jethro watched a basketball game, but Jethro soon cajoled him into bringing the files and sitting next to him on the couch. After that it was just a matter of time before Jethro had taken the files out of Tony's hands and tossed them on the coffee table while he kissed Tony's neck.

They were now stretched out on the couch, with Tony on the bottom and Jethro's body pressed against his while Jethro mapped every centimeter of his mouth.

Tony pushed him back a little so he could take a breath and saw Jethro's dancing, smiling eyes looking back at him. Tony was rock hard again and he could feel Jethro's arousal through their layers of clothes. Tony got an evil smile on his face and told Jethro, "Stand up a minute, I've got an idea."

Jethro immediately stood up and then helped Tony to a standing position next to him. Tony reached down and undid Jethro's jeans and pulled them and his boxers down to his knees. Jethro's fully erect cock sprang free and Jethro moaned when Tony stroked it twice. He then directed Jethro to lie down on the floor with a pillow from the couch under his head.

Tony looked down at him as he removed his own jeans and boxers completely. Jethro licked his lips as Tony stroked his own cock a few times as he looked at Jethro. He then moved around so that he was facing Jethro's feet and straddled Jethro's head with his knees in the sixty-nine position.

Jethro moaned and immediately reached up to take Tony cock into his mouth as Tony arched his back and let out a moan of his own. He was constantly amazed at how good Jethro was at this! After allowing himself a few minutes of bliss being worked by that wonderful mouth, he opened his eyes and zeroed in on Jethro's cock that was bobbing directly below him.

He plunged down on that beautiful, hard member and savored the taste of Jethro. Jethro had increased suction on Tony's cock when he had felt Tony's mouth on him and both actions pulled moans from both men that only increased their pleasure. They both went to work trying to send the other over the edge as quickly as possible.

The following minutes were a symphony of moans, panting, caressing and slurping sounds that managed to bring both men off to a simultaneous finish. When they both released the other's now flaccid cock, Tony moved to lie on his back on the floor next to Jethro. He was caressing Jethro's thigh, that was next to his head and Jethro's hand caressed Tony's hip while they both caught their breath.

Jethro was the first to speak. "Damn, Tony! I forgot how voracious you were!"

"Me?! You're the one who started this little session! I was minding my own business, reading files, when you jumped me! Not that I mind, but still.." Tony finished with a smile.

Jethro sat up and winced a little at his still tender bottom and that increased Tony's smile to DiNozzo Dazzler proportions. He also sat up and pulled Jethro into a deep kiss. They both tasted themselves on their lover's lips and that caused both to moan into the kiss. When they parted for air, they both just sat close holding each other for a few minutes until the hardness of the floor pushed them both to get up and get cleaned up once again. They both worked together to re-make the bed with clean linens and were soon done with the task.

When they were finished, Tony ordered a Pizza and they ate it sitting closely side by side on the couch with a couple of beers, as Jethro found another game to watch on TV and Tony finished reading the files. Tony showed Jethro two files that he was satisfied with and Jethro agreed with his choices. They went to bed around nine and wrapped themselves around each other. Both falling into a deep sleep, feeling profoundly safe.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…

**A/N: Well, Tony's going back to work tomorrow, I wonder what will happen? Please review if you feel so inclined, and thanks for reading! ****;-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is really long, but I wanted everything that happens here all in the same place. Thanks for reading and enjoy! **

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tony stood looking at his reflection in his full length mirror as he finished tying his tie. He was wearing his black Armani suit, a crisp white shirt and black silk tie. This was his serious suit, his 'you-better-not-fuck-with-me-because-I'll-take-you-out' suit. He smiled back at his reflection and his eyes glinted dangerously. He nodded at himself once and thought _"Ready."_

He made his way out to the kitchen where Jethro was sitting at the breakfast bar reading his paper and finishing his coffee. They had gotten up a few hours earlier and Jethro had made them both breakfast before they had taken a run together and then had separate showers. They didn't trust themselves to behave, so Jethro had taken his shower in the guest bathroom while Tony had been in the Master suite. Both had missed the other greatly, but realized they couldn't be late today. Besides, this was probably the last day Tony would have to work for awhile, they would have time to play soon.

Tony's breath caught when he saw Jethro sitting there looking at the paper with his reading glasses on. He thought Jethro looked so sexy wearing them! He had to force his body to relax. He continued into the kitchen and kissed Jethro's cheek as he went by to fix his own coffee in a travel mug.

Jethro was having his own issues with control when Tony had appeared in the doorway. Damn! He looked so hot and sexy in that black suit! He squirmed a little on the stool as Tony kissed his cheek and went to get his own coffee. _"Stand down, Marine!'_ He told himself. They would have plenty of time later.

Jethro was smiling to himself when Tony turned around again with his travel mug.

"Why Mr. Gibbs, it appears you are thinking naughty thoughts!" He drawled while leaning back on the opposite counter.

Jethro put his paper down and smiled wryly at him before replying, "Well, it's a little hard not too with you looking like that!"

Tony smiled back at him and replied, "I could say the same thing about you." Before taking a sip of his coffee.

Jethro looked down at what he was wearing, faded jeans and blue hoody and looked back up at Tony with a _you're kidding right? _Look on his face.

Tony laughed and replied, "Your glasses. Always does me in." He walked back over to Jethro with a sly smile and leaned in for a proper kiss that had them both breathing hard when he finally pulled back.

"I'll have to remember that." Jethro replied, with a sly smile of his own.

"Yeah, I'm in for it." Tony answered, but looked quite pleased at the thought. "You ready to go?" He asked, all business again.

"Yep. We're taking your car." Jethro announced.

"Okaaay, I thought you'd want to drive yourself?" Tony asked him as he grabbed his badge, gun and keys and made for the door.

"Don't want to be away from you for that long." Jethro simply said making Tony stop in his tracks and look at him with his head tilted to the side.

"C'mon, we don't want to be late!" Jethro said as he passed him with a kiss to his cheek and a smack on his ass before he was out the door.

Tony broke into a wide grin and jogged to catch up after locking his door.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jenny Shepherd took one last look in the mirror at the bottom of her stairs before she walked out the door. She had chosen a red pantsuit and simple diamond earrings. Her hair was upswept with a few curls hanging down. She smiled back at her reflection and decided she looked intimidating enough, yet still feminine. _Perfect._ She thought.

When she had first decided to climb the corporate ladder, she thought it would probably be in the FBI. Even though her father was a naval officer, she didn't think NCIS had a high enough profile to get her where she wanted to go. She had let him talk her into trying it though and she was surprised to find how much she liked it. Working for the military and their dependants had benefits all its own. While she had not attained her goal of SecNav, she was okay with that. She was pretty happy where she was right now, there would always be time to climb that final rung.

Her only regret in her climb had been Jethro. She had been thrilled when Franks had left and given the team to Jethro. She knew she would have to 'network' with team leads to up her profile, but Franks did nothing for her. Now Gibbs, that was something else. She had watched him covertly ever since she had been placed on Franks' team, and Gibbs was one hell of a man. That observation had been proven when they had posed as a married couple in Paris and had taken the ruse all the way. The man was incredible in bed! Tony was one lucky man! She had seen Jethro falling too hard for her though and had quickly taken an assignment in London and ended it with a letter to him.

She was flattered that he thought so much of her, but there was no way she would derail her aspirations to settle down with him and have children. Although now, the thought of children appealed to her, but she had not met anyone who peaked that interest in her. She had actually been quite interested in Tony when she first came back as the director, but Morrow had clued her in to the nature of Tony and Jethro's relationship so she scrapped that plan rather quickly. Jethro was not one to share, and she didn't want to hurt him. Watching them over the past year, she had seen how much they meant to one another and how good they were together. They complimented each other perfectly and they had that whole reading each other's mind thing. She and Jethro had never had that.

She was happy they had found each other and loved one another so much, because even if the past year had not proven it to her, these past few days had. She was happy the SecNav knew about them and was okay with it, because she would fight the President himself to allow them to stay together on the job if she had to. She was hoping her idea for the team would be acceptable to both agents, it would be a stretch, but she thought it could work out very well.

She grabbed her purse and briefcase when Greg knocked on the door, signaling they were ready to go. Taking one last look in the mirror, she winked at herself thinking, _"It's all going to work out."_ She wore a smile as she allowed Greg to carry her briefcase to the waiting car.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim McGee stood and wiped his face after splashing water on it in the men's room at work. He had come in at 0600 hours and at 0700 he had just finished the reports he had come in to finish.

He stood looking at his reflection and psyched himself up for his meeting with Tony.

"Try not to stutter, be honest and don't forget to call him Agent DiNozzo or Sir!" He sternly told himself.

"Good advice McGee." Gibbs commented while leaning against the wall near the door.

Tim must have jumped a foot off the ground and spun around so quickly he nearly fell. Gibbs made no move to help him in any way; he just stood there with his arms crossed looking not very happy.

"_Oh shit, he knows!" _Ran through McGee's mind before he was able to choke out, "Gibbs!" in a squeaky voice.

Gibbs did not answer him; he never moved but his stare intensified if that were even possible.

"Um, um, I'm sorry! I was stupid for not looking deeper and, and following someone, well blindly following, just, um not thinking for myself and, and treating Tony, I mean Agent DiNozzo so badly, I, I, I, I think, NO! I know it will never happen again.." Tim knew he was going on and on and maybe not making a whole lot of sense, but he didn't expect to see Gibbs and all his old insecurities were bubbling out and he just couldn't stop himself. He had expected a head slap about half-way through, but Gibbs hadn't moved and hadn't said a word. Tim wasn't even sure he had blinked at all. He just kept looking at him with that intense, Gibbs stare and a mildly disgusted look on his face.

Tim swallowed and ventured to ask, "How is Tony, I mean Agent DiNozzo?"

That got a reaction. Gibbs sprang from the wall and backed McGee up against the wall next to the urinals and got right in his face.

"How is Tony? Tony was feeling a little betrayed by people he considered friends, but he's doing much better. You want to know why McGee? Because he finally realized what a mistake we both made allowing you on the team. You had potential McGee, but you're as bad as David; too full of yourselves to see what's really going on. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to McGee! We should have kicked you back to Norfolk right away. You are an ungrateful, sarcastic little shit who couldn't reason his way OUT OF A PAPER BAG!" Gibbs shouted this last part directly into McGee's face and slammed his hand on the wall about an inch from McGee's head. McGee was actually in fear for his life. He knew what Gibbs was capable of.

McGee was mentally reviewing all the ways Gibbs could kill him and Abby and/or Ducky would dispose of his remains when a quiet, but still forceful, "Jethro." sounded from somewhere near the door.

Both men looked over to see Tony standing just inside the door and McGee had never been happier to see him.

Tony ignored McGee completely and spoke directly to Gibbs. "Go see Abby, you two really need to talk." McGee held his breath while Gibbs contemplated taking this advice or continuing on the path he had started on when he came in to the restroom. McGee noted he took a few deep breaths and he and Tony shared that talking without words thing again, before Gibbs nodded his head once.

Gibbs looked back at him and had an expression on his face that said McGee was on par with something he scraped off his shoe. He never said another word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the bathroom, brushing his hand against Tony's as he went by. A gesture Tony returned. McGee was still looking down at Tony's hand when he realized it was very quiet, so he looked up to see Tony watching him with a calculating look. He also noted Tony was wearing his black Armani. Crap, that was not a good sign for him or Ziva. He cut no slack to anyone when he wore that suit.

McGee slumped against the wall and was a little nervous to hear Tony locking the bathroom door.

Tony leaned back against the sink with his arms crossed and asked him, "You need to change your pants Agent McGee?" In a slightly amused tone.

McGee took a deep breath and replied, "No, sir."

Tony watched him carefully and asked, "You have something you want to say to me, Agent McGee?"

"Yes. Yes." McGee took a deep breath and stood straighter and said, "I'm an asshole, sir."

Tony quirked an eyebrow and replied, "Well, you'll get no argument from me. So, how did you come to this conclusion?" He asked him.

"Firstly, by thinking I knew more than you. Even if you didn't have the education you do, you still had way more experience in investigating than me, and your instincts are unbeatable. I was jealous when you would show me up or come up with the clue we needed while looking like you hadn't done any work at all! It was frustrating that I could never figure out how you did it! I realize now you were pushing me to be a better investigator by trying to dig deeper to find out how you could do that, but I just jumped to the wrong conclusion that you had found out by accident or it was a lucky guess, I was really a moron." He lowered his head as he said this. Tony still did not say a word and when he looked back up, he was standing in the same position he was in before.

McGee continued, "Looking back now, I realize both you and Kate were pushing me to be more curious and figure it out by myself, but I never caught on. She always knew about you, didn't she?" He asked Tony.

Tony nodded his head yes, but he still didn't say anything. "Then Ziva came along and instead of being on the receiving end of jokes, I was helping dish it out." Tony cocked his head to the side and gave him a contemplative look, but he didn't say a word.

"I was no better than the bullies who used to pick on me in school. I did the same thing to you. Kate would tease, but she never got personal, that's all Ziva did and I enjoyed it. I liked getting what I thought was one up on you. I remember now seeing the hurt when you didn't cover it up fast enough and feeling satisfied that I hit a nerve. I was an asshole." He finished with a quiet voice looking at the floor.

"Again, not disagreeing McGee, you have anything else to say?" Tony asked him.

Tim stood up straight again and faced Tony. "Yes, sir. I behaved in an appallingly unprofessional manner and I want to apologize not only for not respecting your position, but for not respecting you as a human being. My actions were dangerous and could have cost an innocent man his life. I am prepared for any punishment you see fit, and, and I hope that someday you could learn to trust me again. I did a lot of thinking in the past few days and I realized that I really don't trust anyone but you or Gibbs to have my back in the field. If I could not work with either of you again, I don't think I could stay here, I wouldn't feel safe. I'm really sorry Agent DiNozzo, and I hope that someday we could be friends again." Tim finished and then swallowed deeply while he waited to see what Tony would say.

Tony continued to look at McGee, but gave no indication of what he might be thinking. They stood for at least a full minute before Tony spoke again.

"I'm glad you brought that up McGee. Have you finished your reports?" He asked him.

"Yes, sir. Just before I came in here, they are on your desk ready to be checked." Tim promptly replied.

"Good." Tony said. "Now let's talk about Renny Grant." He continued.

Tim's face turned red, but he replied, "Yes, sir."

"Did I not ask you to go over the evidence?" Tony asked him.

"Yes, sir."

"What was your response to that request?" Tony asked him

Tim gulped. "That you didn't know what you were talking about and that I knew how to do my job." Tim replied in a small voice.

"Well, I guess not, huh?" Tony sarcastically asked him.

""No, sir." Tim replied while studying his shoes.

"That man could have been sent to prison for years, he might have lost everything! Not to mention all the embarrassment and suffering he's already gone through! Yes, I should have listened to my gut and dug deeper myself, but I trusted you to do your job, big mistake!" Tim's face got even redder and he lowered his eyes to again study his shoes. "This infraction is too much to let go. Yes, you caught it in time and he was released and Yes, you apologized personally to him; it's not enough!" Tony stood up and took a few steps in Tim's direction.

"Do you understand how serious this is?" Tony asked him, forcing Tim to look up directly at Tony.

"Yes, sir I do." He replied.

"I hope you do, Tim, I really do. A simple 'I'm sorry' is not good enough here. You have to know there are consequences for such a large breach of protocol. You're being suspended for one month without pay and you will receive another formal reprimand in your record. The suspension starts right now. When we go back to the bullpen, you will hand over your badge and gun and clear out your desk. When your suspension is up, you will report to FLETC for a refresher course on chain of command and professional etiquette. The director agreed to commute the two weeks suspension she already gave you into your time at FLETC. She thought it would be a better use of your time. When you are finished with that, it will then be determined where you will go." Tony finished and Tim hung his head again.

Tony stepped back and again leaned on the counter by the sink.

"Tim, I'm going to tell you a couple of things and I really want you to think about it while you're off. The first has to do with empathy. You _cannot_ do this job well without it. You have to put yourself in the other person's shoes. What would you do in their situation? How would you feel if someone said or did that to you? Empathy will not only help you to be compassionate towards a victim, it will help you figure out what a perp may have done or will do. The second is, I think you can do this job well." Tim's head shot up and he looked at Tony who had a little smile on his face.

"Yes, you heard me right. You have better instincts than you think you do. You read me and Jethro correctly earlier and you also noted what suit I was wearing and what that meant." Tony told him, his smile getting bigger when Tim seemed astonished that Tony had noticed all that. "That's what being a good investigator is all about, you notice things and put the pieces together to see the big picture. I think you're finally starting to see that picture. I've also heard very good things about you while I was off, and I think you may have turned a corner." Tony told him.

"I'm not promising anything, but if you continue on this path, you'll find yourself back at your desk in the bullpen when this is all over." Tony said. "You will however, be a junior agent again no matter where you go, you're going to have to earn your rank again." Tony informed him.

"Yes, sir! Thank you for a second chance sir, I won't waste it!" Tim told him with a big smile.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, McGee, and I mean _everyone!_ This is where that empathy will come into play. You assumed I had a privileged childhood and was a spoiled brat, wrong on both counts. I don't think my father cares if I'm even still alive, he disowned me when I was twelve when he caught me kissing another boy." Tony quietly told him and laughed when Tim's eyes got as big as saucers. "That blows that theory away too, huh?"

He laughed again when all Tim could do was nod an affirmative.

"I want you to remember that when you're dealing with Ziva. You have a false impression of her upbringing in your mind. I think all you need to do is ask her and she'll tell you what it was really like. Keep an open mind and don't jump to conclusions and hear her out. In fact, I want you to stick around until she comes in. It would not surprise me if she wanted to apologize. She's already apologized to me."

Tony quirked a smile when McGee looked incredulously at him at that news.

"Don't judge a book by its cover McGee. What's inside will more often than not surprise you." Tony finished with a smile.

Tony reached up to unlock the door but was stopped by McGee's voice.

"T-Agent DiNozzo?" He asked.

"Yeah, McGee?" Tony asked as he turned back around.

"Do you think we could be friends again someday?" McGee asked him hopefully. "There's so much I want to talk to you about." He stated.

"So, now I'm worthy enough to be your friend because you know I'm smart enough to understand you?" Tony asked in a cold voice.

"NO! No. I, I always thought you were my friend, but I know I wasn't a good friend to you." He finished while looking down at the floor again.

He was surprised when Tony placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "We'll see McGee, I think we're on the right track."

McGee smiled widely at Tony and nodded his head once before they both walked back to the bullpen.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Gibbs stood just outside Abby's lab holding her Caf-Pow! He hadn't been this nervous since he had gone to see Tony yesterday morning. _Had it only been yesterday?_ He thought with a smile.

Well, that had gone well so maybe this would be okay. He took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way into the lab. Abby had her back to him and was working quickly on her computer. He slipped up behind her and placed her drink on the counter next to her.

She whirled around saying, "Tony-boy!" Her smile and voice died as she saw who was standing behind her. She leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms, leveling a glare at him.

Gibbs nervously ran a hand through his hair and asked her, "Could you lock the door Abs? We really need to talk."

Abby looked at him for a few seconds, but she picked up her remote and locked down the lab. She dropped the remote back on the counter and resumed her stance with arms crossed and a _so talk_ look on her face.

So Gibbs leaned back on the counter across from her and talked. He told her about why he had trashed Tony's things at the house. He told her about going to see Tony yesterday morning after she left and he told her how happy he was that Tony could depend on her and that she had watched out for him. He told her that Tony had forgiven him and they were back together. Then he asked her to forgive him for hurting Tony and everyone else when he just took off without a word.

Abby stood looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Time seemed to stretch out and Gibbs was starting to seriously doubt he could repair things with Abby when she took two steps and crushed Gibbs in a vice-like hug. Gibbs hugged her back tightly, he was very glad he was on the way to making things right with her. She really was like a daughter to him and she meant so much to Tony. He felt a great weight lifting off of him. He hated to disappoint her.

Abby took one step back and punched Gibbs as hard as she could in the arm. "OW! Abs, what the hell?" He cried out while rubbing his sore arm.

"Don't you ever, EVER do that again! Do you understand me Mister?" She admonished Gibbs while shaking a finger in his face. "Do you know how much you hurt Tony! He was devastated! You tore everything up and ran out on him!" Gibbs was fidgeting and unbelievably uncomfortable, but he stood and listened to everything, he deserved this. Abby was pacing furiously in front of him as she continued her rant. "Then you left him with those two _agents!_" She spat out. "And what did they do? Did they rally around him and support him? NO! They ridiculed him and treated him like he was a moron!" She stopped her pacing and looked around agitatedly, finally grabbing an empty beaker and smashing it against the wall behind him.

Gibbs' eyes widened in surprise, but he remained silent at her uncharacteristic outburst.

"I HATE them!" She screamed out, but immediately calmed down. "No, I don't, but they really need to get in trouble for being so mean to him!" She told him plaintively.

Gibbs pulled her into another hug and whispered in her ear, "I know Abs and they will be. I cornered McGee before I came down here and I think I made him piss himself."

She pulled back to look at him with a big smile on her face. "You did?"

"Yep." He confirmed with his own smile. "If Tony hadn't come in, you might be helping me hide a body."

Abby pulled away from him and did a little twirling happy dance. "Ooh! Did you do it anywhere a camera picked it up so I could watch?" She excitedly asked him while bouncing up and down.

"Sorry, Abs. It was in the men's room." He told her as he kissed her temple while she pouted.

"Abby, you know how much I love Tony and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making this up to him. I am a bastard, so I'm sure I'll mess up again, but I will never knowingly hurt him again." He told her seriously.

"Okay. I will hold you to that. You should know that if you hurt Tony again, Ducky, Palmer and I have an unmarked grave all ready to go, comprende?" She asked with a pointed look.

"Si, Seniorita." He replied and kissed her again.

"So, are you coming back to work or are you just going to be Tony's 'kept man'?" She asked him with an mischievous smile.

"As appealing as that sounds, I think I'll be back to work soon, just don't know where, my old job is taken." He replied.

"Damn right it is!" She retorted. "You better not think you're going to push him to the side!"

Jethro stepped up and grabbed Abby's arms before she went off on another tangent. "Abby, I would never treat him like that, I love him. There are plenty of other jobs here that I can do. Hell, I could even work here with you, I do have a chemistry degree." He told her with a crooked smile.

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, you do. That would be really hinky though! I think it would really blow people's minds to see you down here in a lab coat. That would be so cool!"

"We'll see, Abs." He kissed her cheek again. "Can you unlock the door? I need to get to autopsy and make amends with Ducky and I think Palmer too, but I'm not sure how that happened." He added with a puzzled expression.

"Palmer really stepped up when the wonder twins turned their back on Tony." She informed him. "He's been a really good friend to Tony, he's even helped him work out cases when Tony needed to talk them through."

"That's good to know Abs. I'm glad he had support." He frowned.

Abby picked up her remote and clicked the door open before going over to kiss Gibbs gently on the cheek. "I'm glad you two made up Gibbs, but I think you have some more things to talk out."

"Thanks, Abs." He quirked a smile at her as he left the lab.

She stood for a minute gazing after him. She was thrilled he was back and that he had talked it out with Tony, but she hoped he didn't revert to his functional mute and mess things up again. She sighed as she turned back around to her computer. She would have to talk to Tony soon.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony and Tim walked back into the bullpen to find Balboa waiting for them.

"Everything okay, Tony?" Balboa asked him with a stern look at Tim.

Tony smiled an easy smile as he replied, "Yeah, Vince. We got some things straightened out; I think everything's going to be okay."

"Good! 'Bout time you got your head out of your ass, McGee!" Balboa commented as Tim sat down and lowered his head.

Tony's brow furrowed and he replied, "That's enough, Vince. He got the point."

Balboa quirked a smile at Tony, "Still the big brother, huh?" He remarked while holding out his hand to shake.

"You know it! Nobody messes with the family." Tony replied while shaking Balboa's hand. His back was to McGee, so he didn't see the surprised look on McGee's face followed closely by an ashamed expression.

Balboa saw it though and inclined his head towards McGee as he was leaving the bullpen. "Don't waste this chance McGee, you won't get another one." He told him as he was leaving.

"No Sir!" McGee replied with a serious expression.

Tony smiled down at McGee as he returned to his desk and sat down. He was just starting to go through the files McGee had left for him when he found McGee standing next to his desk with his gun and badge in his hands. Tony took them and stowed them in his own desk and gave McGee a single nod as Tim went back to sit as his own desk to continue packing and wait for Ziva to come in.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Gibbs stood in the stairwell just outside of autopsy and planned his mode of attack. He huffed out a breath as he realized the only way to go was to apologize, but he still had a few things to say. _Yeah, this sucks._ He thought. He straightened his shoulders and resolved himself for another uncomfortable confrontation. _You gotta do what you gotta do for family. _He took another deep breath and then pushed open the door to the autopsy suite.

Palmer had his back to the door and Ducky was facing him, both bent over a body. Ducky straightened up and got a sour look on his face when he saw who had walked in. Palmer, realizing his mentor had stopped, glanced up at him and then turned towards the door. Gibbs was impressed at the look of disdain Palmer gave him, and he looked pissed. _Go Palmer! _Gibbs thought. Gibbs walked right up to Palmer without breaking eye contact.

"Thank you, Mister Palmer." He sincerely said. "You had Tony's back when very few others did." He gave Ducky a pointed look when he said this and Ducky had the grace to look embarrassed. "I've talked to Tony and apologized to him, we're okay. He's told me how supportive you were and what a great friend you had become, We're back together, and I promise you I will do everything in my power to never hurt him again." Gibbs finished, again looking directly at Palmer.

Palmer seemed to shake himself and nodded once before he replied, "See that you do Gibbs, I'm not as timid as I appear." He said in a hard voice.

Gibbs nodded back at Palmer in approval. He then turned to Ducky. "I'm going apologize to you Ducky, because I upset you, not because I didn't tell you about my girls. That was none of your business. The only person here who knew about them was Tony, and I had a good reason to tell him. No one else here had the _'right'_ to know about them. I would have told you, I would have told you all eventually. Tony was helping me get over the grief I felt every time I thought about them. I was almost there. The explosion derailed all that but it's getting better again, because of Tony. "

Gibbs moved over to the head of the body Ducky and Palmer were working on and intensified his gaze, which Ducky met.

"Now you may be mad at me Duck, but I'm also pretty pissed at you too. You left Tony to twist in the wind. You knew about the two of us, you knew how he must have felt, but you weren't there for him. You were pissed at me because I didn't share my secret with you. You let him down and me when you turned your back on him" Dr. Mallard finally broke eye contact and bowed his head.

"You are quite right, Jethro. I behaved appallingly towards young Anthony. Mister Palmer has told me of the difficulties Anthony has had with the two miscreants under his charge. I had witnessed a few incidents at crime scenes between them, but as you say, I was too wrapped up in my own anger to even think to intervene." Ducky confessed.

"It is I who owe you the apology, Jethro." Ducky said contritely. "You are correct, I had no right to know your secret until you decided to share it with us and my abhorrent behavior towards young Anthony was inexcusable. I'm afraid Anthony let me off far too easily, I shall endeavor to make amends with him on a larger scale." Ducky looked troubled by thoughts of his letting Tony down, which he most certainly did, but Jethro decided to cut him some slack.

"Let's call it even, Duck. We can start over from here." Gibbs told him while wearing a crooked smile.

"Agreed. Thank you my friend." Ducky responded with a smile of his own.

"So," Ducky continued, his smile turning mischievous, "You and Anthony have made amends yourselves have you?"

"We have. We're all good. Gotta go, I have to meet with the director. Bye Duck, Bye Palmer." He responded with a wave as he made his escape from autopsy. Palmer waved back and turned to Ducky, who was chuckling to himself.

"What's so funny, Dr. Mallard?" He curiously asked.

"Well, I think that's the most I've ever heard Jethro say at one time, yet he still managed to deflect and avoid my direct question." Ducky responded with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I don't think he avoided it, he just didn't elaborate. You wanted details, didn't you Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy accused.

"Mister Palmer when one gets to be my age, we are forced to live somewhat vicariously through our younger acquaintances. You can't begrudge me wanting to know a few of the good bits, now can you?" The elder doctor said with an evil smile.

Jimmy laughed out loud. "I guess not, but I doubt either Gibbs or Tony will give out any juicy details."

Ducky sighed dramatically, "Oh, I suppose not, but one can dream! Let us get back to the job at hand and determine the demise of this poor fellow."

"Right away, Doctor." Jimmy smiled back and resumed assisting.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva checked her reflection in her rearview mirror one last time before exiting her car at NCIS.

"Everything will be alright." She told her reflection. "I will make this better." She gave herself a determined nod and headed off into work. She hoped she would be able to speak to McGee, she really needed to apologize to him.

Ziva was happy to see Tony as she got off the elevator in the bullpen and somewhat surprised he seemed happy to see her too. She was further encouraged when he gave her a small smile and indicated with a tilt of his head that she should go speak to Tim.

She walked over to McGee's desk and cleared her throat when he did not notice her. He looked up and was startled to see her standing there.

"Ziva! I didn't even hear the elevator ding. What can I do for you?" He asked her with a guarded expression.

"May I speak to you privately, McGee? There are some things I need to say to you." She asked him.

McGee studied her face but could see no sign of deception. She didn't have that little sneer she usually wore and her eyes looked clear and sincere. That was something else he had learned from Tony, _"The eyes don't lie. Always look in the eyes Probie."_

He glanced over at Tony who was watching them and received a nod to give his okay to step away. He turned back to Ziva and said, "Okay, is the break room alright?"

"That will be fine." She answered him. He rose and allowed her to go first.

Tony smiled down at the file he was looking at and thought, _"You've learned well, Probie! Private enough for a conversation, but public enough if things go South." _

He gave them a few minutes to get settled before he followed them. Ziva may appear different, but he wasn't risking Tim's life on a supposition. He stopped just outside the door and saw they had taken a table near the window. Ziva's back was to him and he saw that Tim noted his presence with a relaxing of his shoulders and seemed grateful for it. Tony noted to himself that Tim never gave any indication to Ziva that he had seen Tony. Tony smiled to himself as he thought, _"Probie got some skills! We'll have to see about some undercover training when he gets back." _Tony pushed his own thoughts aside as he focused back on what Tim and Ziva were saying.

"I am grateful that you agreed to speak with me, McGee. I wasn't sure you would." Ziva warmed her hands on the cup of coffee she had in front of her.

"What did you want to talk about Ziva?" Tim asked her.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you and for the way I used you against Tony and Gibbs to some extant." She began. "I saw you as a means to an end, never thinking how that would effect you. I think, no, I know I hampered many of the positive traits Tony brought out in you and encouraged you to treat him as badly as I did. For that, I am truly sorry. I wish I could take it back, but I cannot. I must move on from here and try to make amends as I go along." She lowered her head and studied the steam rising from her coffee cup.

Tim, who had been watching her body language closely (_Thank you Tony)_ and still did not see any indication of deception, relaxed a bit more. He finally asked her, "Why did you do it Ziva? I know I played my part and I'm ashamed for it, but I'd like to know why. Did you really think Gibbs would choose you over Tony?"

"Yes. I was arrogant enough in my thinking that I did. The worst part is that Tony was correct. I did know of his background and I had even been told by people in my homeland, including my father, not to underestimate Tony, but I mistakenly believed I knew better." She sighed deeply before continuing. "I had originally come here to get away from Mossad. The person you know of as me, is not the person I always was or ever wanted to be." She said softly.

"I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a young girl, and I had a great interest in music. Those dreams were dashed when my sister and mother were killed and Ari was lost to Hamas. My father decided that I would train to be an assassin for Mossad. He thought I would be perfect, no one would suspect me. I was only 10 years old. What kind of person requires that of their child?" She asked him sadly.

Tim was shocked at this news. _How could her father have done that to her? _He was deeply saddened by the information she had shared with him and also secretly glad Tony had urged him to listen instead of lashing out. She was just as much a victim in all this as they were. Whatever happened with their team, he vowed to support her, wherever they both ended up. He had not been a good friend to her either.

Ziva wondered what Tim thought of everything she had said. It was actually more than she had intended to share, but it had felt good to tell someone. He had a frown on his face, but she could not read his thoughts. _He has learned well from Tony and Gibbs._ She thought to herself. _I wish I had been smart enough to listen to them too. I could have learned so much from all of these men._ She looked back up when Tim straightened up in his seat and looked at her directly.

"I'm sorry you had that life Ziva." He told her. "If you want to change and turn things around in your life, I will help you. But know this; if you start down that road again and try to pull me along with you, you're on your own. With your help I have managed to alienate the people in my life I respected the most. I think Tony will forgive me even though I'm not sure he should, but I'm not sure Gibbs will. Abby hates me and Ducky and Palmer can't stand to even talk to me. It's not all you, I am an adult and I chose to go along with you." He paused before adding, "I have issues too." He told her while ducking his head.

"I was bullied as a child and I was jealous of Tony. He seemed to have everything and never had to work for it. I know now that was a false assumption, but it fueled my jealousy. So, I was very willing to go along with you to knock him down, when it should have been him knocking me off my high horse." He laughed a little at the confusion on Ziva's face. "It means I thought too much of myself and was arrogant and he should have pointed it out to me before now." He explained to her.

She nodded as the explanation clarified things for her. "I've done a lot of thinking in the last couple of days too. It would be very easy to blame you for everything, but I was just as much to blame. I think between the two of us, we can make this right again. I meant what I said, if you really want to be different, I will help you, all you have to do is ask. We can help each other." He told her with a small smile. Tears threatened to obscure her vision, but Ziva nodded back at him and choked out, "I would like that very much."

Tim and Ziva stood at the same time and Tim pulled her into a hug that she returned with almost as much force as Abby. _It will be alright. _She told herself. Tim met Tony's eyes over Ziva's head and Tony nodded in approval at him before slipping away again to the bullpen. Tim felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. _I think it's gonna be okay._ He thought to himself.

Tony was unbelievably proud of his Probie. _Yeah, even if Ziva is not on the team anymore, we'll all be there for her. Things will work out._ He thought to himself. He was smiling as he sat down again and started back on the reports.

Tim walked back to his desk a few minutes later and said at Tony's questioning glance, "Ziva's in the restroom, she needed a few minutes. She'll be right out."

Tony nodded in answer and commented, "You did a great job Tim, the Probie is growing up!" he said with a lopsided smile.

"Thanks Agent DiNozzo!" Tim smiled in response.

Tim's smile increased tenfold when Tony replied, "I think we can go with Tony for now, but I reserve the right to revoke that if you get pissy again!" He told Tim while pointing a finger at him.

"Yes, Sir!" Tim agreed with a huge smile.

"Okay then." Tony answered. "When you're finished with your desk, you can just go, no need to ask permission." He informed Tim.

"Will do, Tony." Tim replied and went about packing up his things with a much lighter heart. Maybe this time off will do everyone good. We all need time to re-adjust to the new dynamic. Tim thought.

Ziva made her way to her desk a few minutes later and got right down to her reports. The bullpen was soon silent again except for paper shuffling and typing.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Gibbs, after escaping autopsy took the back elevator directly up to the level Jenny's office was on. She was standing on the balcony looking down on the bullpen at Ziva's arrival when he joined her.

They both witnessed the interaction between her and McGee and Gibbs nodded in approval when Tony got up to watch McGee's back during the meeting. He glanced over at Jenny and saw her satisfied expression at Tony's actions.

"He's an excellent team leader." She told him.

"I know." He replied with a proud smile.

"So, did you come to discuss your options Jethro?" Jenny asked him.

"Yep. That and a few other things." He replied as he looked out the windows.

"Such as?" She asked him as she turned to look at him directly.

"Scaring the piss out of McGee, groveling to Abby, thanking Palmer for having Tony's back and telling Ducky off for not having Tony's back." He told her with a lopsided smile as he glanced over at her.

"Well, you've had a busy day!" She teased him. "Come on into my office and we can discuss what options you have." She told him as she turned and walked away from him. Jethro stood and followed her, closing her office door behind him.

"Let's sit at the conference table and I'll tell you what I came up with." She advised him. Jethro sat to her left as she took the seat facing the door at the end of the table.

"What you got, _Director?"_ He emphasized her title, just to annoy her. She ignored him completely and started to tell him of his options.

"Your first option is a training position. We have an arms instructor who is moving to our LA office in a month, you could take over his spot. We could also use you to teach some sniper skills." She started with.

"Maybe, what else you got?" He asked her.

"Second option is your own team at the Norfolk office. We are expanding the location and you could head up their team. It would free up the teams here from having to commute the 4 hours to Norfolk." She told him.

"Next option." He quickly dismissed that option, there was no way he was working that far from Tony.

"I thought you'd say that." She told him with a wry smile. "Okay, third option is Tony's SFA on the current MCRT. He's going to have new members and could use your experience, but make no mistake, he will be your boss. Could you handle that?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I think I could." He replied with a contemplative look on his face. "Those are my choices?" He asked her.

"So far. I'm thinking about one more option, but there are some things I have to iron out first." She mysteriously told him. "Which one are you leaning towards?" She asked him.

"Right now SFA, but I'd have to talk to Tony about that. If he doesn't think it would work out, I could do the arms instructor. It's been a long time since I had a 9-5 job, it has it's appeal." He told her while leaning back in the chair.

"I thought you'd opt to work with Tony. I'm glad you'll be discussing it with him, because he'll have the final say on if he wants you as his SFA." She informed him.

He nodded his agreement. "How long do I have to decide?" He asked her.

"At least a week. Are you two going out of town next week?" She asked him.

"Not sure." He replied. "I have a couple of thoughts that might take us out of town, why?"

"I should know about the fourth option by Monday or Tuesday. Could you stick around until I can present it to you?" She asked him.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Any clue on what it would be?" He tried to wheedle out of her.

"Let me work on it. I may be able to offer it before you leave today. I'd like you to sit in on the meeting Tony and I will be having with Ziva. I want her to know we are aware of what she's done and there will be no appeal to the revocation of her credentials. She has one option at continued employment here at NCIS and that would be working for Reilly in training." He nodded in agreement.

"Ziva won't be done with her reports for a little while. Why don't you go for coffee and grab something to eat and be back here around 11am?" She asked him.

"Okay. Sounds good." Jethro stood up and stretched. "I'm going to sneak in and out the back way. Not really in the mood for small talk with anyone right now." he told her.

"Alright Jethro, see you in a few hours." She smiled at him as he slipped out and she moved back behind her desk.

She picked up her phone and dialed. The line was picked up on the third ring.

"Hello, Mr. Secretary! Do you have a few minutes to discuss a change I think may be beneficial to NCIS?"

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tim McGee stood up an hour after his meeting with Ziva and walked over to Tony's desk. Tony sat back in his chair and said, "Good work with the reports Tim, you all packed up?" Tony asked him.

"Yeah, all set." He told Tony with a smile. Tony stood up and held his hand out to shake Tim's hand. "Good luck, Probie. Use this time well." Tony told him.

"Thank you Sir, I will." Tim replied while shaking Tony's hand.

He then retrieved his backpack and box from his desk and started walking out. Ziva had watched the exchange between the two men and looked up at Tim with a questioning look on her face. He stopped at her desk and explained, "Starting my suspension." She nodded in understanding. "If you need anything, or just want to talk, call me." He told her with a serious look.

"I will McGee, thank you." She replied with a warm smile.

He returned her smile saying, "Okay. Bye Ziva, Bye Agent DiNozzo."

"Goodbye McGee." Ziva answered.

"Bye Tim." Tony answered. He was pleased Tim had used a more formal address for him, since Ziva was not yet back on that level. He was also impressed Tim had not used it to taunt Ziva. Looks like Probie really was growing up and was also trying to rebuild his relationship with Ziva. Tony smiled to himself as he retuned to checking the reports Ziva had given to him a little while ago.

He knew Jethro would be in the meeting with Ziva, Jethro had texted him the specifics of what was going on before he had ducked out for coffee earlier. He hoped Ziva's newfound Zen extended through that meeting. He wasn't looking forward to a confrontation with her.

About an hour later Balboa walked up to his desk and smiling said, "Tag out, Tony! Time for your meeting with the director."

Tony stood up and stretched. "Yeah, she emailed me. Thanks man." He replied with a yawn. "Ziva? You need a break?" He asked her.

"No, thank you. I only have two weeks left, I would like to finish." She told him.

"Okay. Vince, if she finishes before I'm done, just call up." Tony advised the other lead agent.

"Will do Agent DiNozzo!" Vince smiled as Tony grabbed some files from his backpack and a stack from his desk and jogged upstairs to meet the director.

Tony knocked on the director's door and entered when he heard "Come in!" from inside. He closed the door behind him and went to sit at the conference table where the director had several files spread out. He placed the stack of finished and checked reports from McGee and Ziva next to her and said, "These are the last of McGee's reports, he's already gone. I have his badge and gun locked in my desk and the rest are what Ziva has given me so far today."

"Good! There's a few things we need to discuss. The first I want to tackle is your new team members. Have you made any decisions?" She asked him.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied while handing her two files. "I think Cassie Yates and that new agent Dwayne Wilson would be a good fit."

She nodded her head in approval and said, "I think those are the best choices too. What did you think of the other two possibilities?" She asked him as she leaned back in her chair.

"Actually, I was considering Jardine. She's a whiz with computers and off-the-charts in smarts, but I was a little concerned about her last psych eval. I'm not sure field agent work is the best place for someone with a germ phobia and it appears to be a new thing for her?" He questioned.

"Actually, her phobia appears to be situational." The director responded. "Her brother was injured in Iraq and she visits him almost every day. Her germ phobia manifested after his hospitalization." She explained.

"Ahh, gotcha." Tony replied. "She doesn't want to bring him any germs to set him back. Okay, we could probably work around that."

"What about the last candidate?" Jenny asked.

Tony huffed out a breath. "Paula Cassidy. I'm gonna have to say a firm no on that one." He told her.

"May I ask why?" She inquired.

"Yeah, we uh, had a 'dalliance' about six months before I got together with Gibbs, right after Gitmo. Plus the fact that Gibbs hates her." He continued when Jenny raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I don't think he respects her methods as an agent and looking back, I think he was a little jealous." Jenny smiled at this. "Looking back myself, she was a little sloppy dealing with the people she worked with and she probably respects me about as much as Ziva did. She never took me seriously, that's why it didn't work out between us." He finished.

Jenny nodded her acceptance, "Fair enough, she's off the table." Jenny leaned forward and said, "Speaking of Gibbs, he was here this morning and we went over his current options. One of which involves you, and another reason I wanted to speak to you."

"Okay, how long before he takes over the MCRT again?" Tony asked neutrally.

"He's not. The MCRT already has a lead who's doing a great job, no need to change that." She told him and then smiled at his surprised expression.

"Right now he has three options and I want to discuss a fourth with you in a minute." She went on when he nodded his okay. "He's dismissed the idea of his own team lead because it would be in Norfolk. The two choices he's pondering are arms instructor or SFA for you on the MCRT, he seems to be leaning towards the SFA position if you're okay with it." She watched the shock on Tony's face give way to trepidation.

"You don't like the idea of him being your SFA." She stated.

"It's not like he wouldn't be great at it, I just think it wouldn't be fair to him. He earned his team lead status and I don't think it should be taken away from him because he got hurt on the job. It would be, disrespectful." Tony explained. "Before you ask, I would feel this way even if we weren't sleeping together. He's Agent Gibbs. He shouldn't be demoted because he got injured. I'd be happy to step back and let him take the lead again." Tony replied decisively.

Jenny smiled a knowing smile. "That's what I thought you'd say." She told him. "That brings us to option four, which I'm discussing with you first."

Tony cocked his head to the side to show he was listening, but he didn't respond.

"How would you feel about an expanded MCRT with co-leads?" Tony widened his eyes in surprise and asked, "How would that work?"

"Well, you would have an expanded team, four agents under you instead of three and you would trade off lead in the field and in the office. Whichever way you choose. You two have always worked exceptionally well together and I was intrigued when I took over this position and Tom Morrow told me you both had been a two-man team for over a year. You seemed to work well as partners. Do you think you could both do that again, but as co-leads?" She asked him.

Tony had gotten a fond look on his face when Jenny had been talking about the time the team had been only him and Jethro and replied to her question with, "Yeah, I think that might work out just fine."

Jenny smiled at his response. "I was hoping you'd say that. Now from the interaction I saw between you and McGee this morning, am I right to assume you'll be taking him back on the team?" She asked him.

"Yes. If he continues the way he is, we'll be good, but if he reverts back to know-it all McGee, I'm booting him." He informed her.

"Agreed. So that will give you three agents, you just need a fourth. Do you want to go with Jardine or do you have any other ideas?" She asked him.

"I think Jardine will be okay. We'll work with her. I should talk to Gibbs about it though, since we're co-leads." Tony replied.

"Understood. Have you thought about an SFA for the team?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Cassie." He promptly replied, confirming her thoughts. "She has the experience and she certainly has the temperament."

"I agree, do you think Gibbs would have a problem with that choice?" She asked him.

"I don't see why, but we can ask him when he gets here." Tony replied.

"Okay." The director responded with a smile as she started stacking the folders spread out, into their respective piles.

"May I ask you a question, Jenny?" Tony asked her.

"Of course." She looked up waiting for his question.

"How does SecNav feel about this _'new'_ MCRT?" He posed.

"He was actually pretty fond of the idea. Especially when I told him which agents were most likely to be involved. If it works well, which I believe it will, stats will skyrocket and we will probably try it in other locations." She told him.

"Try what in other locations?" Gibbs asked as he walked in without knocking and sat across from Tony to the right of the director, winking at Tony as he sat down. Tony smiled back at him in response.

"Ah, Jethro, impeccable timing, as always." Jenny replied with a wry smile.

Gibbs grinned at her, unapologetically and asked again, "So, trying what?"

Jenny shook her head in exasperation and turned to Tony. "Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?" She asked him.

"It was your idea, director." He smiled back at her.

She huffed out a breath and said, "Fine." Before turning back to Gibbs.

"It seems Tony is not too keen on the idea of you being his SFA." She started, earning an annoyed look from Tony. She noticed the quick look of hurt that passed over Jethro's features before he buried it, so she went on quickly. "It seems he believes asking you to do that would be disrespectful."

Jethro shot a fond glance at Tony, which he returned, before focusing again on the director. "So, then this is that fourth thing you were talking about?"

"Yes. SecNav has signed off on it and I think it will work out perfectly. You and Tony will be co-leads of an expanded MCRT." Gibbs looked surprised and his eyebrows climbed up to his hairline, but he let her continue without comment. "You will have four agents under you and the team will be six with you two. I don't know if Tony shared his choices with you, but he decided on Dwayne Wilson, Cassie Yates, who would also be the SFA, and Nikki Jardine along with McGee when he comes back from suspension. We'll re-configure the bullpen to accommodate everyone." She finished. "So what do you think?" She asked him.

He looked over at Tony who had an unreadable expression and smiled. "It'll be like when we first worked together, we'll be partners again."

"That's what I thought. You're really okay with this?" He asked Jethro with a skeptical expression.

"Yeah, I'm okay with it, as long as I'm there to cover your six." Gibbs responded.

"Okay, I guess we're good to go!" Tony replied with a nod.

"One thing though," Tony added while looking directly at Gibbs, "You head slap me on the floor in front of our agents, I'm head slapping you right back, understood?" He pinned Jethro with a sharp look and Gibbs nodded solemnly.

As quickly as Tony had switched to "don't-fuck-with-me" mode while addressing Gibbs, it was turned off just as quickly when he turned back to the director.

"So, Jethro has some things to do before he's re-instated, all of them shouldn't take more than a week, so we could still take some time off?" He asked her.

Jenny smiled inwardly when Tony had turned his intensity on Jethro and asserted his authority and she saw Jethro swallow nervously when Tony again turned to her with his question.

"No problem. That's why I wanted to get it settled today, so you two could leave right away if you wanted to." She reassured him.

"Ziva's almost done with her reports, so as soon as the meeting with her is done and I've checked over the last of her reports, we'll take off." Tony told her.

"No need. Leave the last of her reports with me and I'll look over them. You've done enough cleaning up after those two." She informed him.

"Thanks, Jenny." Tony replied as Jenny's phone started to ring.

"Thanks, Vince." She said into her phone. "Bring her up here with the reports she just finished, please."

"Showtime." She said to Tony and Jethro when she hung up her phone. Both men nodded at her and shared a supportive look to each other while they waited for Balboa to appear with Ziva.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Ziva followed Vince Balboa up the stairs to the director's office. She knew she would now learn her fate. He stopped in the outer office and handed the files she had just given him back to her.

"Just knock and go on in, they're expecting you. Give the files to Tony. Good luck, Ziva." He added with a small smile.

She nodded gratefully at him and watched as he disappeared back out the door. She took a deep breath and knocked. She waited until hearing a "Come in." before opening the door and stepping inside. She was startled to find Gibbs also in the office. She had not even seen him come in, but maybe it wasn't so strange, he moved like smoke.

"Ziva, please have a seat." Jenny told her.

Ziva complied and handed her reports to Tony saying, "These are the last of the reports."

He nodded back at her replying, "Thank you Officer David." Before handing them off to the director who nodded her acceptance back at him.

"Ziva, a serious issue has come to light." The director stated while picking up a large envelope that was under some files and dropping it in the center of the table. "Do you recognize this envelope?" She demanded in a hard tone of voice.

Ziva's face blanched and she seemed to shrink back in on herself. _It was all over now. Not only will I lose my job, I will also lose my freedom. Leave it to her father to derail her last attempt at redemption._ She thought morosely to herself.

"I asked you a question, Officer David!" the director barked out.

Ziva flinched in her chair and managed to force out, "Yes, ma'am. I have seen the envelope. I am sure you know that I sent it to my father a few weeks ago." The two men and the director were all pleased that Ziva had told them the truth right away.

"Why Ziva?" Gibbs demanded in a harsh tone of voice.

She seemed to shrink further into herself as she replied, "I did not want to." Ziva answered softly with her head bowed. "Father demanded payment for allowing me to come here. I-I tried to find the most inconsequential thing to send, but I know that will make no difference."

As angry as Tony had been when he had first found out about this, he did not want to destroy Ziva. She had always been at the mercy of her father's wishes. He could relate. He was just glad he had broken away at an early age, or he may have ended up in a similar situation. He sent a look at Jethro that said _'Enough!'_ and saw the sentiment reflected in his lover's eyes. They both turned to the director and saw she too, had no wish to prolong this further.

"Ziva, I suspected Eli would try something like this when he agreed to let you come here. Secretary Davenport agreed with my assessment and together we took steps to assure that you would not have access to anything sensitive. We expected this Ziva." She told the broken woman sitting across from her.

Ziva raised her pale face and whispered, "Then you have never trusted me."

Jenny took a deep breath before replying, 'Not entirely, no."

"You were right not to. I cannot remember the last time when I have chosen to do the right thing." She said in a small voice, bowing her head again.

"I can." Tony spoke up.

Ziva looked back up at him with questioning eyes.

"You did just a few minutes ago when you didn't lie to us about this. You did this morning when you apologized to McGee and you did yesterday when you apologized to me and Gibbs." He told her with a small smile on his face.

Ziva felt tears falling down her face, but she made no attempt to curb them. She was overwhelmed at the generosity of this man. She had tried to destroy him and everything he cared about, but he still stood by her and defended her. She did not deserve his compassion.

A crooked smile appeared on his face and he leaned forward to squeeze her shoulder reassuringly. "You do what you have to for family." He told her and when she looked to Gibbs and Jenny she saw similar sentiments reflected in their faces.

"I do not deserve your devotion. I betrayed you all." She told them looking from face to face.

"You were loyal to someone you thought would always have your back. Someone who put you in a vulnerable position and then left you twisting in the wind. That's not what a parent is supposed to do, Ziva." Gibbs told her.

She was still crying and could not answer just then, she simply nodded her head, agreeing with his words.

"Ziva, since we controlled what you saw and no information was actually passed, the Secretary has agreed not to press charges." Jenny told her in a quiet voice. "There will, however, be consequences for your attempt to pass information." She added.

Ziva nodded and said, "I am to be sent back to Israel, then."

"No. You have lost your field agent status though and your security clearance above level one." Jenny informed her. "The SecNav has also ordered a three and a half month suspension. I trust you understand why he chose that length of time?" Jenny asked her.

"Yes. That was the period of time I did not properly do my job." Ziva answered Jenny, receiving a nod in reply. "I do not understand, though. If I cannot be an agent, what use to you am I" She asked them.

"Oh, you've got plenty of useful skills, Ziva." Tony replied.

"Tony's right, Ziva. You could teach hand-to-hand combat skills or shooting skills to other agents. Do you think you could handle that?" Gibbs asked her.

"I could do that, yes. Then I would not have to kill anyone, any longer?" She asked Jenny hopefully.

"No, Ziva. No more killing." Jenny assured her.

"But maybe you could show me that paperclip thing, before you retire?" Tony joked with her.

She laughed and replied with a wide smile, "I suppose I could do that."

"Now since you'll be off for three and a half months, Tony and I arranged for it to be on half-pay so you won't lose your apartment. Also, the two weeks suspension I already gave you will be incorporated into the SecNav's punishment. I think three and a half months is enough time to be off." Jenny told her.

Ziva smiled again and said graciously, "Thank you both."

"When you come back, you'll be working for Liam Reilly, he's in charge of training. Now he's a former Marine drill sergeant, so you won't get anything past him and he will not tolerate attitude from you." Jenny warned her.

"Yes, ma'am." Ziva replied with a bright smile and feeling lighter than air.

"Do you have your gun and badge with you?" The director inquired.

"Yes, ma'am. Here they are." Ziva unclipped her badge and gun and placed them in the middle of the table, seemingly glad to be rid of them.

"Okay." The director replied. "Go downstairs and clean out your desk, I'll be down in a few minutes." She ordered her.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ziva bounced up out of her chair and left after giving both men a parting smile.

All three remaining occupants of the room relaxed back into their chairs when the door closed quietly behind Ziva.

"Well, that went well, she seems pretty happy with her suspension." Gibbs quipped, causing the other two to dissolve into laughter. The release this brought was a welcome distraction from the tension that had gripped them all for the better part of a week. They all realized that Ziva welcomed the change and was grateful for the second chance and would probably be just fine.

"Alright boys, I think it's time you started your vacation. Jethro, contact me in two weeks and I'll get you started on re-instatement. Tony, enjoy your time off, you deserve it." Jenny smiled at the two as they both replied with a 'Yes, ma'am!' in concert with the other and made their way out of the office.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, RL has been keeping me busy. Also, sorry for not responding to all reviews personally. I would like to again reiterate that I do NOT like McGee or Ziva. I barely tolerate the characters and was quite surprised my muse redeemed them. This story is about Tony and Gibbs, the rest are just supporting characters. If my treatment or characterizations of McGee and Ziva bother you, feel free to choose another story, there are plenty out there.**

**************NCIS********************NCIS**********************

Tony and Jethro jogged down the stairs from the director's office side by side. Tony noticed Jethro seemed closed off and didn't want to talk. Nothing new for Jethro, but it was the first time Tony had gotten that vibe since Jethro had come back.

Tony stopped them at the bottom of the stairs and pulled Jethro over to the alcove and asked him, "You okay?"

He was a little alarmed when Jethro fidgeted and would not meet his eyes, simply mumbled "Yes" into the carpet and did not elaborate.

Tony took a step backwards and replied, "Okay. I'm taking Abby to lunch, do you want me to drop you off back at your car or do you want to take a cab?" He asked in a frosty tone.

That got Jethro's attention. His head shot up at the tone in Tony's voice and he had a panicked look on his face. "NO! I, I was gonna.." he stuttered out and then stopped himself. Tony saw him swallow once and then he said in a quiet voice, "If that's what you want, I can get a cab."

Tony huffed out a breath and grabbed one of Jethro's arms, pulling him down the hall to an empty observation room. He locked the door behind them and then rounded on Gibbs.

"What the hell, Jethro! Tell me what's going on? Are you pissed about that head-slap comment in the director's office? Are you re-considering the co-leads thing? What is it? Talk to me!" Tony demanded.

Gibbs bowed his head, studying the floor and started fidgeting again, but couldn't seem to find the words. Tony's anger grew as Jethro's silence lengthened. He took a step back so he was leaning with his back against the window to interrogation with his arms crossed.

"Look, if you don't want to do this co-leads thing, I understand. You're used to being the only one in charge, I can step down. I'm going to have to insist on the no head-slap thing in front of the other agents though, I think that went a long way to undermining me with Tim and Ziva." He told Jethro.

Jethro continued to study the floor and still had not said anything. Tony's confidence and good mood from this morning were rapidly deteriorating. Jethro seemed to not want to tell Tony something. An awful thought ran through Tony's mind: _'What if he decided he didn't want to be with me anymore because of this, if it was too much of a hassle?' _The fight left Tony and he no longer had any strength. He walked over to the tech's chair and sat down heavily. Jethro's nervousness and continued refusal to even look at him spoke volumes.

He laughed bitterly and said out loud, "Well, at least I didn't make the mistake of moving in with you this time. I am such a fool." He had a hitch in his voice when he said that last bit and that tone of voice seemed to get through to Jethro.

Jethro's head snapped up and he focused in on Tony sitting dejectedly in the chair in front of him, head bowed and shoulders slumped. He ran back through everything Tony had said since they left Jenny's office and his eyes widened in panic. "NO!" He took two big steps and knelt in front of Tony pulling him into a tight embrace. He was relieved to feel Tony's arms come up around his back and return the embrace.

Jethro rubbed circles in Tony's back and kissed the side of his head murmuring "I love you baby, I'm so sorry" over and over until he felt Tony relax in his arms. After a few minutes of this, Jethro felt Tony shudder and pull back so he could look directly at Jethro. Jethro felt like an ass when he saw the hollow look in Tony's eyes. _Dammit, I did it again! _He chastised himself.

"Jethro, what the hell is going on? Talk to me!" Tony pleaded.

Jethro could no longer stand to kneel on the hard floor and pulled a chair over to sit right in front of Tony and kept a tight hold of his hands. He said in a low voice, "I caused all this." and again bowed his head.

Tony ducked his head to get Jethro to look back up at him and squeezed his hands tightly saying, "Did all what?"

Jethro huffed out, "All of this, everything, all the trouble you had with Tim and Ziva, everything. I caused it."

Tony pulled on Jethro's hands and said sharply, "Look at me!?"

He continued when Jethro's head came up to meet his gaze, "Why do you think that?"

"Because I never showed you the respect you deserve and they took their cues from me. I treated you like shit, so they thought it was okay. You can do better than me. You are worth so much more." He told Tony with a miserable look on his face.

Tony bowed his head and let out a long breath. When he raised his head again to meet Jethro's eyes, he had a wry smile quirking his mouth. "You are such an idiot, but I love you anyway. You know as well as I do that the situation with Tim and Ziva was just as much my fault as theirs. I took the frat-boy persona too far. I should have cut Tim off at the knees the first time he gave me that condescending attitude. I should have forced Ziva's hand and gotten her to admit what she knew about my education instead of playing into it. I was wrong, and yes, so were you. You let them treat me like that and enforced the frat boy image, but I could always tell when you were joking and I knew how you really felt about me, so I let it go. We had to be careful about not being found out, but that's not an issue anymore and all those things are going to stop."

Jethro nodded back at him in agreement. "Yes they will. No more head-slaps. We are going to be true partners again, off the job and on and our new team won't know what hit them." He told Tony with a smile.

Tony laughed back, "No they won't. Now do you want to come to lunch with me and Abby or are you going to go home and wait for your man to get there?" Tony asked with a suggestive grin.

Jethro shuddered at the images those words provoked but answered, "I'll come with you. I still think there's some groveling to be done with Abby."

Tony let out a bark of laughter and rose, pulling Jethro up with him. He stepped close and plastered himself to Jethro's body, kissing him deeply. When they both pulled back to get air, Tony told him, "I'm warning you Marine, don't pull that shit on me! I have come to believe the adage that you can only be used if you let someone use you. That's never going to happen again, you talk to me! I love you, but I will not be your doormat! Got it?" He asked in a sharp tone.

"Got it." Jethro replied in a serious voice. He then moved his hands lower and cupped Tony's ass pulling a smile from the other man.

"Yeah, okay. You can use me for _some_ things!" Tony joked.

"Glad to hear it." Jethro responded by squeezing Tony's ass. Tony slapped Jethro's arm and pulled away.

"C'mon Gunny, time for lunch. You go collect the princess and I'll meet you in the garage." Tony told him as he unlocked the door and stepped back into the hall.

"Yes Sir!" Jethro saluted him and spun on his heels to head off in the opposite direction. Tony stood until Jethro had walked out of view, winking back at Tony as he went around the corner. Tony shook his head and walked back to the bullpen with a smile on his face. Jethro knew he would take the opportunity to watch Jethro's ass as he walked away. _What a tease._ He thought to himself.

When he entered the bullpen, Jenny was leaning back against the front of his desk discussing opera with Ziva as she packed up her desk.

"You know Pagliacci is going to be at the Kennedy Center in two weeks, would you like to go?" Jenny asked Ziva.

"I would love to! There is also an exhibit on Italian Renaissance at the National Gallery at the end of the month, would you like to go?" Ziva asked hopefully.

"That sounds wonderful! We can see it before the schools are back in and it's overrun with tours." Jenny replied.

Tony smiled at the easy conversation between the two women. It was good to see this new side to Ziva. He hoped it would be a permanent change. He quickly closed up his desk and stepped over to stand next to Ziva's.

"Good luck Ziva. If you need anything, call us, we'll be there." He told her. He leaned down and kissed her cheek and she hugged him tightly around his neck when he did.

"Thank you." She whispered to him and he smiled down at her when she removed her arms from around him.

"No problem, be good." He told her as he started for the elevator. He turned around to walk to the elevator backwards as he added, "But not too good!" Both women laughed as he disappeared into the elevator with smile and a wave.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jethro jogged down the stairs to Abby's lab, intent on further damage control with her. He was surprised to find the lab silent and it's sole occupant sitting at the stool in front of her computer with her shoulders slumped in her coat. As he edged his way quietly into the room he noticed the picture displayed on her computer.

She had taken the shot at a get-together at his house a little over a year ago, before Kate died. He was sitting close to Tony whispering into his ear what he was going to do to him when everyone left and wouldn't they be surprised if they knew what they both got up to, and Tony had his head back laughing. Jethro looked at Tony's face and saw how happy and carefree he looked and Jethro too had a peaceful, contented look. They were so happy, and Jethro was determined he would never let that go again. He just had to convince Abby of that.

She didn't even flinch when he placed his hands on her arms and gripped them in a loose hug, while kissing the top of her head.

"We'll be okay Abs, I will take good care of him." He said quietly.

"You better, Gibbs 'cause I don't think he could take another let-down like this last one. You nearly did him in." Abby replied, equally quiet.

He spun her chair around to face him and looked directly into her face saying, "I promise Abs, I will fight for him 'till my last breath. He means everything to me."

She studied his face intently until she finally saw what she had been looking for. She threw her arms around him and hugged the stuffing out of him. He could feel her wet tears on his shoulder as she mumbled into it, "Good!"

They stayed attached like that for nearly a full minute before Jethro pulled back and wiped at her tears saying, "We have to go, Tony is waiting for us."

She smiled a watery smile back at him and nodded, hopping off the stool and quickly shut down her computer and grabbed her casket purse. She spun around, pigtails flying and gave him a blinding smile.

"Let's go, your Prince Charming awaits." She teased him.

He rolled his eyes, but he teased back, "I thought he was Beauty and I was the Beast?"

"Ooh! Does he wear the gold dress too?" She laughed loudly at his shocked expression as they walked out of her lab with her arm through his. "Or maybe you trade off and _you_ wear the dress sometimes?"

She laughed harder at his red face and outraged _"Abs!" _as they made their way to the parking garage. _Hmm, embarrassed look, maybe I'll have to sneak in and set-up those cameras I always threatened them with!_ She thought evilly.

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Tony was leaning back against his car with his long legs out in front of him waiting for Abby and Jethro. He got a suspicious look on his face when he saw the slight red tinge to Jethro's cheeks and his flustered appearance and Abby's 'cat who got the canary' face.

"Alright Abby, what did you do to him?" He asked as he stepped forward and kissed her cheek.

"Nothing Tony-boy, yet!" She innocently replied.

Jethro leaned forward and muttered, "We're changing the locks, today!"

Tony chuckled as Abby let out an indignant squawk and Jethro gave her a smug smile while she sputtered, "How did you know?"

"Abby, he _always_ knows!" Tony told her as he helped her into the car.

"Humph!" She crossed her arms and sulked in the backseat as both men got in, laughing at her discomfort at being thwarted.

Her mood evaporated quickly though as she sat forward and asked where they were going. She was delighted to find out it was her favorite diner. She chattered happily during the car ride, lunch and the car ride back to headquarters about everything and nothing. She was just happy to have her boys back together and happy. Tony and Jethro just let her go, knowing she was just adjusting back into the situation in Abby fashion and that they were all on the road to recovery.

Both men got out and received big hugs from her when they got back to the Navy Yard.

"Text me when you leave town, so I won't worry!" She admonished Tony.

"I will Abs, we'll keep you in the loop." Tony told her as he kissed her cheek.

"You take care of him!" She ordered Jethro as he too, gave her a kiss on her other cheek.

"I promise, Abs!" He caught Tony watching them with a crooked smile and surreptitiously pinched his ass, getting a squeak out of Tony and a squeal of delight out of Abby.

Tony grumbled while rubbing his ass, "Great, I'm outnumbered." with a pout.

Jethro patted his cheek with a fond smile saying, "I'm always on your side Tony."

Tony's pout morphed into a shy smile as he replied, "Yeah, I know." While looking at Jethro from under his eyelashes.

Abby sighed deeply with a hand to her throat as she remarked, "You guys are too cute!" She smiled widely as both men snorted at her comment.

"Gotta go guys, have fun!" She gave them one last kiss each before clomping away. Both men watched to make sure she got into the building safely before turning back to each other.

"Let's go home Jethro, I'm sure there are many naughty things we could do to each other." Tony said with a sly smile.

"Yes, I think there are." Jethro replied with a heated look of his own.

Jethro jogged around the car to launch himself into the passenger seat saying, "C'mon! Let's go!"

Tony chuckled as he got behind the wheel and they roared out of the garage. "By the way," He said conversationally, "What did Abby say to you to make you blush?"

His laughter could be heard trailing behind the car as he raced back to his apartment with a blushing Jethro scrunched down in the seat next to him.

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An hour later both men were naked in Tony's living room. Jethro was sitting on the couch with Tony straddling his lap facing him. Jethro's head was thrown back and Tony had one hand splayed on Jethro's neck and the other carding through his silky silver strands as he kissed him deeply. Jethro's arms were around Tony's waist and he had one hand caressing Tony's lower back and the other squeezing his ass. Tony was squirming in his lap and their erections were sliding against each other.

Tony broke off the kiss and straightened up so he could look at Jethro's face as he ground down, making Jethro moan. Tony smiled as he ran his hand down from Jethro's throat over his chest and lower to his stomach, pinching a nipple on the way down bringing a gasp from Jethro.

Tony wrapped his hand around both of their cocks, loosely moving his hand up and down their shafts while he continued to run his fingers through Jethro's hair and nip at his jaw line. Jethro's breath was coming faster and his cock was rock hard against Tony's own hardness. As pleasurable as this was, Tony wanted Jethro inside him when they came, so he pulled his hand off their cocks.

This action brought Jethro's head up and his eyes instantly opened. Those gorgeous blue eyes watched him intently as Tony brought his hand up and sucked his fingers into his mouth, cleaning off their combined juices that had leaked onto his hand. Jethro drew in a sharp breath at this action and Tony felt Jethro's cock twitch against his.

Tony moaned around the fingers in his mouth causing another twitch of Jethro's cock and one from his own in sympathy. Tony pulled his fingers from his mouth with a pop and Jethro wrapped a hand around the back of Tony's head and pulled him down for a fiery kiss. Jethro mapped every inch of the inside of Tony's mouth with his tongue, moaning into it as he savored their combined taste.

Jethro's moans sent a shiver through Tony that resonated in their joined cocks and tore additional groans from both men. Tony broke the kiss and reached down to grab the tube of lube next to them on the couch. He dangled the tube in front of Jethro saying, "Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?"

Jethro leaned back breathing heavily with a sly smile on his lips and replied, "You do it, I want to watch."

Tony got a playful look on his own face and told him, "Okay, you asked for it."

Tony opened the tube of lube and dribbled it onto Jethro's cock while Jethro squirmed underneath him explaining, "I want you to be ready, because when I get finished, you won't remember to do this." He looked down at Jethro with a heated look that was returned as he thoroughly coated Jethro's leaking, twitching cock while Jethro threw his head back and loudly groaned.

Jethro's head came up when Tony removed his hand from his cock and he watched intently as Tony added more lube to his fingers and reached around behind himself to begin stretching. Tony closed his eyes and moaned as his first finger breached inside and he heard an answering moan from Jethro. He spent some time with one finger, spreading lube around and brushing his prostate sending shocks of pleasure through both men when he shuddered at the contact. He then added a second finger and started scissoring the digits as he felt himself loosening up. He had licked his lips when he had added the second finger and now adding a third he mewled and let the tip of his tongue stick out between his teeth, driving Jethro crazy. Tony started to move slightly up and down, fucking himself on his fingers while making soft, sensuous sounds.

Jethro had seen enough. He placed his hands underneath Tony's thighs and lifted him up. Tony's eyes shot open at this action and he withdrew his fingers just before he felt the head of Jethro's cock nudging at his entrance. He reached back again and guided Jethro's cock inside while both men moaned loudly at their contact. Tony used gravity to help impale himself on Jethro's cock and soon he was sitting down completely in Jethro's lap with Jethro's thick cock filling him up. Both men were breathing heavily and Tony could tell Jethro wanted to lose control, but he knew he wouldn't until Tony gave him the okay.

Tony took a few deep breaths as he adjusted to Jethro's girth and Jethro felt Tony's inner muscles clenching and then starting to relax around him. Tony started to squirm on his cock and made little thrusting motions, telling Jethro he was ready for more. Jethro lifted Tony's thighs again pulling his cock almost all the way back out before thrusting his hips upward, impaling Tony again. Tony gasped out and placed both of his hands on Jethro's shoulders to balance himself as Jethro continued his deep upward thrusts. Both men were lost to sensation as Jethro continued his brutal pace and Tony bobbed happily on Jethro's cock. Both men were covered in a sheen of sweat as they worked together towards blissful release. Tony was grunting "Ungh" every time Jethro thrust deep and brushed his prostate and Jethro was panting as he worked his hips faster to get further inside Tony and relieve his aching erection. Jethro knew he would have bruises on his shoulders from Tony gripping them, but that just increased his passion.

Both men were rapidly approaching the finish when Tony pushed back a little and managed to get one of his hands around his own erection while bracing the other on the back of the couch. Tony was pushing down as Jethro thrust up inside him and working his hand rapidly up and down his own straining cock. He managed to get out, "Jethro I'm…" as Jethro thrust sharply up into him and roared out "Tony!" as he started emptying himself into Tony. Tony cried out, "Jethro! as his own orgasm hit, painting both their stomachs and chests with his release. He was sitting down again in Jethro's lap and hummed appreciatively as he felt Jethro's warmth spreading inside of him with little aftershocks of pleasure.

Tony opened sleepy, satisfied eyes and looked down at Jethro whose breath was slowing down. Jethro had his arms resting on the top of Tony's thighs, his hands on Tony's hips, rubbing small circles by his hipbones. Jethro looked sated and he had a goofy smile on his face as he watched Tony come down from his own orgasmic high. Tony returned the smile and leaned forward to gently brush his lips against Jethro's murmuring, "Thank you." He leaned back as Jethro's smile increased and he replied "Anytime." with a smug, satisfied smile.

Tony chuckled as he leaned forward again and snuggled into Jethro, laying his head on his shoulder and breathing in the scent of the man he so loved. Jethro snagged the afghan off the back of the couch to cover their cooling bodies as they just basked in post-coital bliss. Tony traced designs on Jethro's chest as Jethro continued caressing his hips. They lay there for almost ten minutes before Tony broke the silence by asking, "So, Abby thinks I'm the Beauty in this relationship, huh?" The snort from Jethro and the gentle tap to the back of his head was not unexpected and he laughed into Jethro's neck.

Tony sat up straight again and smiled brightly at Jethro before he remarked, "However, she's never seen you like this." He brushed some silver strands back from Jethro's forehead and said fondly, "You are absolutely beautiful, you take my breath away." Jethro blushed and pulled Tony forward into a sweet kiss that conveyed his gratitude. When the kiss ended, he lightly slapped Tony's ass and said, "Alright Beauty time to get up, the Beast's legs are going to sleep and we're all sticky."

"Way to kill a mood, Jethro!" Tony laughed but he pushed himself up and managed to stand with only a minimal protest from his muscles, although he knew he'd feel it later. He stretched lithely next to the couch as Jethro watched him appreciatively. Tony reached down and pulled Jethro up with a smug smile, he knew Jethro had been watching and was putting on a show for him. Jethro pulled him into a deep kiss, plastering his body to Tony's and unbelievably causing arousal in both of them. Neither thought they would be ready so soon after such a vigorous workout, but their bodies craved one another and were obviously not sated just yet.

Tony pulled back from the kiss and took Jethro's hand as he pulled him along to the shower in the master bath. "C'mon stud, I'm not finished with you yet!" He told Jethro as he pulled him along the hall.

"Whatever you say Beauty." Jethro murmured as he watched Tony's ass moving down the hall in front of him, his cock thickening with every step.

Tony pulled him into the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. His back was to Jethro as he adjusted the temperature. Jethro moved his eyes up and down Tony's body taking in the broad, well-sculpted shoulders, his trim waist, that gorgeous ass and those long, long legs. He also noted a streak of lube and semen that had run down the inside of his leg from their recent encounter. That sight sent a shiver through Jethro's body.

_This man belongs to me, _he thought, _no one will ever see him like this but me, and I belong to him!_

His possessive nature took over and he grabbed one of Tony's arms, spinning him around to face Jethro and stepped in to again plaster himself against Tony's long body as he desperately kissed him while groping his ass. Tony was startled, but got with the program quickly, running his hands up and down Jethro's arms and getting in a few squeezes of his own of Jethro's ass. Jethro growled into the kiss and walked Tony backwards into the shower and under the spray. Tony broke the kiss and moved his head back out of the stream of water while Jethro moved forward and started sucking on his neck, intent on leaving a mark.

Tony's hands scrabbled at the slick skin of Jethro's back, looking for purchase. He moaned loudly as Jethro increased his efforts on his neck while running his hands over every part of Tony he could touch. His left hand latched onto Tony's hard-again cock and stroked him firmly, quickly bringing him off while Tony gasped and cried out his release. Jethro lifted his head to inspect the mark he had made on Tony's neck and satisfied with it, moved his mouth up to nibble and lick along Tony's jaw line.

Tony was leaning heavily on Jethro, his knees weak from the second orgasm he had undergone in the last twenty minutes. While he took control of his breathing and shuddered through the aftershocks of a quick, explosive release he became aware of Jethro turning him to face the back wall of the shower. Knowing what was coming, he spread his legs further apart and pushed his ass out and back towards Jethro while resting his forehead against the cool tiles.

Jethro growled low in his throat at Tony's submissive posture and quickly soaped up his cock before placing it at the entrance to Tony's body once again. With one smooth stroke he was imbedded to the hilt inside Tony and both men gasped at the intense sensations this caused. Jethro set a quick pace, because he wasn't going to last long. Tony was still riding out the aftershocks of his own orgasm and the feeling of Jethro filling him again and rubbing his cock on his sensitive prostate intensified the experience. Jethro's added stimulation set off another round of fireworks behind his eyes and he had his mouth open in a silent scream as he felt Jethro's thrusts become uneven and more urgent and finally felt warmth blossom in his lower belly when Jethro again emptied himself into Tony.

Jethro leaned in with his hands on either side of Tony's body against the shower wall while he caught his breath and made sure his legs would hold him. _Damn! That had been intense!_ He thought as he left butterfly kisses along Tony's shoulders. He stayed in that position, supporting himself and Tony until he was sure the younger man would not collapse when he stepped back. Tony's breathing, although still harsh, was returning to normal and he wasn't leaning so heavily on Jethro. Jethro stepped back and while gently withdrawing from Tony's ass, he still heard a small wince of pain from him.

He leaned forward, kissing Tony's shoulder and asking, "You okay?"

Tony sighed deeply and replied, "Yeah. It's been awhile, it'll take some time to get used to regular sex again, I'm okay." He smiled at Jethro over his shoulder as Jethro pressed in again for a kiss. This one was pure affection though, they had both spent their heated passion in the last half hour.

Jethro pulled back again, but kept his arms around Tony for support as he asked him, "You think you can wash up without falling over?"

Tony snorted out a laugh as he replied, "Yeah, as long as we're quick, sleep is calling me."

Jethro moved back under the spray and quickly washed himself before pulling Tony under the water and assisting him with his own bathing. Jethro made sure everything sticky had been scrubbed from both of them before pushing Tony out of the shower and turning off the water. Jethro quickly dried himself and then assisted Tony before steering the younger man into the bedroom and under the covers. Jethro made a quick tour of the apartment, making sure everything was secure and turned off before joining Tony in the bed.

Jethro moved as close to Tony as he could get. Tony was on his back, already asleep and Jethro snuggled up to his side and threw a leg over Tony's and his arm around his waist, scooting even closer. He lay his head on Tony's shoulder and settled in with his nose buried in the crook of Tony's neck. He inhaled deeply of the scent that belonged to Tony alone. Jethro sighed in contentment and quickly dropped off to a peaceful sleep. He didn't see the smile that Tony wore as Tony leaned his head so his cheek was resting on the top of Jethro's head while he drifted back off to sleep.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…..


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

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Tony and Jethro awoke in the evening after sleeping a good eight hours straight. They shared another shower but did not get past some serious kissing when their stomachs announced their hunger loud and clear. They were attached at the mouth at the time and both men started laughing into the kiss when their bellies rumbled.

Jethro pulled back and looked into Tony's smiling face and remarked, "Okay, message received - chow time!"

"Do you want grilled cheese and soup?" Tony asked him as he finished up washing.

"Sounds good. I'll grill the cheese, you nuke the soup." Jethro replied with a smile.

"Gee, I don't know. Do you think I can handle it? All those fancy buttons and the can opener, I don't know…Eeep!" Tony squeaked as Jethro grabbed him as he was getting out of the shower stall and pinched his ass before bestowing a kiss on his nose and saying, "Yeah, I think you can handle it smartass, you learned which of my buttons to push!" He finished with a smug grin.

"Well that's not too hard!" Tony scoffed. "Keep you caffeinated. Make sure you have a good supply of wood and make sure you're serviced at least once every few days and you're good to go!" Tony smiled with his hands resting on Jethro's chest.

"Every few days!" Jethro cried indignantly. "More like every few hours if you want me to run at top form!" He growled while leaning in to nibble at Tony's jaw.

"Oh, okay." Tony sighed. "If I must!" He playfully said.

Jethro snorted out a laugh and smacked Tony's ass before letting him go to continue drying off. "Brat!" He said with a fond smile.

"Yeah, but you still love me." Tony teased him while finishing up drying himself.

"I do." Jethro replied seriously.

"Hmmm, that sounds like the answer to a different question!" Tony joked as he was leaning over drying his leg that he had perched on the toilet seat.

"Same answer for both questions." Jethro replied as he again smacked Tony's ass and exited the bathroom.

"What!?" Tony stood straight up and watched Jethro go through the door. He heard Jethro as he was going down the hall say, "Shake a leg DiNozzo, I'm hungry!"

Tony stood stock still looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. _Did Jethro just say he would marry me? _He thought. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then reasoned, _Nah, he was just kidding, wasn't he? _Tony noted that his reflection didn't look so certain about that. He huffed out a breath and frustratingly said to the mirror, "You're a big help!"

He exited the bathroom to slowly dress in a t-shirt and sweatpants, his mind whirling with thoughts of a ceremony, Gibbs looking hot in a tux, wearing a wedding ring and calling Jethro his husband. He sighed deeply as he banished those thoughts to the back of his mind before walking out to help Jethro fix something to eat.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

_Holy shit! What was I thinking! _Jethro berated himself as he walked into the kitchen. While every part of him would marry Tony today if he said yes, he didn't want to scare him off. He knew Tony had been left at the alter once by Wendy and Tony had asked a boyfriend before that, he thought his name was Kyle, who had laughed at the thought and dumped him. Jethro's anger burned as he thought of those two. He remembered the hurt in Tony's face when he had told him about Kyle and he had been there first-hand when Wendy, the selfish bitch, had embarrassed him by leaving him waiting at the alter.

He sighed deeply as he prepared the sandwiches to be grilled. The Wendy fiasco, as he called it, took Tony almost a year to get over. He remembered sitting with a drunk Tony who just kept asking him what was wrong with him that nobody wanted to stay with him. Although he felt bad for all the pain Tony was going through, and he wanted to hunt down Wendy and tell her exactly what he thought of her, he was secretly relieved. He had been attracted to Tony from the first moment Tony had tackled him in that ally in Baltimore. He had sensed it was a mutual attraction (something Tony later admitted to when they got together) and had flirted openly with Tony.

Even though he was going through his divorce to Stephanie, he couldn't deny the electricity that sparked between him and Tony at the time. He had been shocked when Tony had told him, about five months after he started working for Gibbs, that he was engaged and would be getting married in a month and would he be his best man? After clamping down his jealousy of Wendy at this news, he had accepted. Ducky and Abby had also been invited and were witness to Tony's humiliation when Wendy's father, with a smirk on his face, announced to Tony loudly, so everyone could hear, that Wendy had come to her senses and was not coming, the wedding was off.

Ducky had quickly walked up and placed a restraining hand on Jethro's arm, he could see the rage in his friend's eyes and didn't want it to escalate. Jethro smiled at the memory of Ducky turning to Wendy's father and telling him it was in the best interests of his health to leave immediately and that he should hurry off to comfort his discourteous daughter. The dumbass had no idea what Ducky had said and only understood 'comfort' and 'daughter' so he left without another word. Jethro wondered if someone explained it to him later on. Abby and Ducky took over the task of herding all the guests out while Jethro had taken Tony's arm and steered him back to the dressing room for privacy.

Tony seemed to be in a daze and Jethro was worried about the clammy feel to Tony's skin. Recognizing the signs of shock, Jethro had knelt in front of Tony, after grabbing a bottle of water, and clapped his hands loudly right in front of Tony's face. Startled out of whatever thoughts he was trapped in, Tony jerked back in the chair and focused on Jethro's face. He was shaking a little and Jethro forced him to drink some water. His breathing had sped up and Jethro was worried he would hyperventilate into a panic attack so he did the only thing he knew would focus Tony quickly, he gave him a firm head-slap.

It did work. Tony calmed down, but Jethro saw the hurt now crowding in. Tony had finished off the bottle of water and Jethro asked if he could stand. When he got a nod yes, he hauled Tony up and walked him out the back of the church and straight to his car. Tony crumpled into the passenger seat and Jethro broke land speed records getting them back to DC and back to Jethro's house. Tony had not spoken once and did not protest being at Gibbs' house, so Gibbs got Tony out of the car and into his guest room where he stayed for the next two weeks.

Jethro had shored up Tony's battered ego and assured him it was not his fault, it was all on Wendy. SHE was the one who left. SHE was the one who didn't even have the decency to tell him in person. He didn't think Tony really believed him, but he could tell he was grateful for the support. Hell, even his worthless father hadn't bothered to show up for the wedding, but looking back that may have been a good thing.

Tony had healed over the next year and Jethro had found it harder and harder to hide his feelings. Every time he decided to tell Tony how he felt, he would change his mind. Either he would catch Tony flirting with someone else or he would overhear him telling Abby or Ducky about a date he had been on. Each time he would berate himself for ever thinking that Tony would be interested in him, and then he would catch Tony looking at him or flirting with him and his hopes were renewed.

This back and forth lasted for another year before their case with Sgt. Atlas. He remembered being absolutely unreasonable with Tony throughout the entire case. He had yelled at him in front of witnesses and embarrassed him in front of Kate. His reason was simple pure jealousy. He saw red when Tony had flirted with that waitress right in front of him and she had seemed very interested. It didn't matter that he was just doing that to get information and she later turned out to be their killer, at the time it was just jealousy. All that went out the window when Tony had been kidnapped. He moved heaven and earth to find him and vowed to finally let him know how he really felt when he got him back. He was beside himself with pride when he got the whole story from Atlas on how Tony had gotten them both out and had never let him give up. Not to mention subduing the killer and telling Atlas over and over again that Gibbs would find them, he knew Gibbs would not let him down.

He remembered taking Tony home and pushing him upstairs for a shower while he paced his kitchen downstairs. Just the thought of a naked Tony only a floor above him nearly drove him crazy. He was just about to run up the stairs and pin him to the bed when Tony walked down only wearing a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips, barefoot and bare-chested toweling his hair dry and asking him to take a sniff to see if the sewer smell was gone.

Jethro had backed him up against the wall and taken a deep sniff. He had been worried he had read it wrong, but Tony's erection pressing into his own had chased all those worries away. They had spent the next two days in bed getting to know each others bodies and falling in love. In all fairness, Jethro thought they had both already been in love with the other, they just had not admitted it until then. They never spent a night apart after that if they could help it. Barring any nights they had to be in the hospital or Tony's undercover time with Jeffrey White, they were nearly inseparable. A shadow passed over Jethro's face as he thought again of Jeffrey White.

That had been too close.

If Tony had not been the outstanding agent he was, they would have been burying him along with all of White's other victims. Like every other time Jethro thought of the White case and how close he had come to losing Tony forever, his throat constricted and an overwhelming desire to hold Tony overcame him. He set aside the plate of grilled sandwiches he had completed and whirled around, intent on finding Tony and listening to his heartbeat. He was startled to find Tony seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen next to two places he had set for them. There were also two bowls of soup at each place setting.

He couldn't believe he had zoned out in his memories so much that he had not even been aware of Tony making the soup or setting the table. Tony was watching him intently with an unreadable expression on his face. Jethro was so relieved to see him though, he rushed forward and wrapped Tony up in a tight embrace, kissing his cheek and nuzzling his neck to breathe in his scent. He was thrilled to feel his very much alive body pressed against his own and decided to throw caution to the wind.

"I don't care if I scare you or not, I want you to know how much you mean to me." He pulled back and looked at Tony before asking, "Tony, will you marry me?"

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Tony made his way out to the kitchen to find Jethro assembling the cheese sandwiches. He didn't seem to notice Tony coming into the room, he seemed very deep in thought. It was not like Jethro to be so unaware of his surroundings. Tony set the table as he watched a myriad of emotions pass over Jethro's face. He wondered what he was reliving, because it didn't look like he was contemplating their future as he thought he might be after their encounter in the bathroom.

Tony finished setting two places at the breakfast bar and put the soup into the microwave to heat it up as he kept an eye on Jethro. Jethro was methodically going about his task making the grilled cheese without any conscience thought. Tony wasn't surprised Jethro was able to set his body in motion on a task while his mind worked out something completely different.

Tony noted that it looked like Jethro was nearly finished with the grilled cheese sandwiches as he poured the soup he had heated into two bowls and placed them at the two place settings on the counter. Tony got two bottles of water and placed them on the counter before sitting down to see if Jethro would snap out of his trance or whether Tony would be eating a solitary meal sitting right next to Jethro.

He was surprised to see Jethro snap himself out of whatever he had been thinking of and spin around to see Tony sitting at the counter waiting for him. Tony had been right when he thought that Jethro hadn't even registered that he had been in the room when he saw the surprise on Jethro's face at his presence. Tony kept a neutral expression as he waited to see what Jethro would do or say. He was relieved when Jethro hurried over and wrapped him in a tight embrace. A part of him was afraid that Jethro regretted even hinting that he might want to marry Tony and his deep thought was him trying to find a way to backtrack. His genuine relief at finding Tony so close by told him the memories were likely one of the many times Tony had been injured or in danger.

Jethro held him this tight and close right after the Jeffrey White undercover assignment. He had been out of contact with Gibbs for nearly a whole 24 hours, during which time White had killed his partner in crime. Tony had been very upset when he had learned that after he was safe back at the Navy Yard. That op had rattled Jethro too. Evidenced when Jethro had not let him out of his sight for the entire three days afterward they had been given off.

Jethro had made love to him over and over again for those three days, he couldn't get enough of Tony and he couldn't seem to get close enough. The op had taken place in mid-December and it had started to snow just before they had gotten home. Jethro had lead him up to the bathroom and taken a long, hot shower with him. He had gently washed Tony's hair and run the washcloth over every inch of Tony's body, trying to relax his tense muscles.

After the shower Jethro had dressed Tony in warm sweats and had lead him back downstairs to the couch, where he wrapped him in his Ohio State Buckeye blanket while he started a fire. Jethro kept coming back over to him and kissing him or running his hand through Tony's hair while he tended the fire and heated some soup for their dinner.

The entire time Jethro was in the kitchen, he kept looking over to reassure himself that Tony was actually there, alive and sitting on the couch watching the fire. He had hurried back out with their food and after eating had pulled Tony against him as Tony snuggled into the comfort of Jethro's arms. They just sat there reveling in each others presence as they watched the fire and the snow coming down outside the window.

He was pulled back out of his memories by Jethro saying he didn't care if he scared him or not and he wanted Tony to know how much Tony meant to him and then he said words Tony never thought he would hear from Jethro: "Tony, will you marry me?"

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Tony blinked a few times as he processed what Jethro had said, what he had asked. While Tony was silent, Jethro's nerves kicked up a notch and he berated himself internally: _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What were you thinking, you've only been back a few days! He's not ready for this. He's going to run. He's going to…_

"Yes."

It was Jethro's turn to blink and he was pretty sure his mouth had dropped open. He was finally able to get his mouth in gear and he managed to stutter out, "A-are you sure?"

Tony smiled a brilliant smile and replied, "Yup."

Tony's smile morphed into a fond look as he reached forward and pulled a stunned Jethro back to him, hugging him just as tightly as Jethro had been hugging Tony. He kissed Jethro's temple and whispered, "I never dared hope I would ever hear that question from you, but I've been ready with that yes for quite a while - no second thoughts."

Jethro felt tears stinging his eyes as he held Tony tightly. He had the same feeling he had when he had asked Shannon to marry him, this was right. No one had made him as happy since Shannon, and he was going to savor this good fortune. He felt an answering wetness on his shoulder where Tony had snuggled his face and his heart swelled with the love he felt for this man.

Their romantic moment was interrupted by both of their stomachs growling in hunger at the same time. Both men dissolved into laughter and they pulled back to wipe happy tears from their eyes as they continued to chuckle.

"Well, I guess we should eat, before anything else." Tony said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so. Let's eat and then we can head back to bed." Jethro replied with a pointed look.

Both men ate quickly and cleaned up before heading back to the bedroom to celebrate their newly engaged status.

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Jethro moaned as Tony thrust deeply into him. Jethro was flat on his back with his legs wrapped around Tony. Tony was leaning down over Jethro with his body flattened against Jethro's, licking and nipping at Jethro's jaw. He moved his hips back and forth again, thrusting deeper inside. Jethro moaned, not only because of Tony's cock brushing his prostate, but because of the wonderful sensations Tony's mouth was making on his jaw and the friction against his own hard erection that was trapped between their bodies.

Tony leaned back so he could see Jethro's face when this new position allowed for an even deeper angle to his thrusts. He was rewarded with a look of absolute bliss from Jethro as he drove them both to the edge of madness with his body. Tony had his own legs spread wide, to give himself leverage to thrust harder into Jethro. Jethro was squeezing his legs tightly around Tony's waist as he worked to thrust back when Tony drove himself deep.

Jethro squirmed underneath him and worked to impale himself even more on Tony's thrusting cock. Tony's heart nearly burst out of his chest with love for this man. He took great delight in the moans and gasps of pleasure that he was able to pull from him. He looked down between them and watched his cock disappearing over and over again into Jethro's willing body and the sight nearly drove him wild.

His heat, his tightness, his moans and the way Jethro's body begged him for more, more of everything, set him on fire. Tony pushed all the way inside and moved his hips in a circular motion, causing Jethro's head to thrash from side to side as he gasped and tightened his grip on Tony's biceps. Tony pulled out and then slammed back in to repeat the motion causing an anguished "Ahhhh, Tonyyyy!" to be torn from Jethro's lips.

A satisfied smile broke out on Tony's face when he was able to get that reaction from Jethro, so he did it a third time.

This time Jethro let go of his arms and braced them above him on the headboard, so he had his own leverage to push, and push he did. Jethro pushed back to drive Tony even deeper and wriggled his hips in counterpoint to Tony's, causing both men to cry out in ecstasy at the sensations it evoked.

This action broke the truce Tony had with his desire. He leaned further back and with a growl he clamped both of his hands on Jethro's hips and started thrusting his cock in and out of Jethro, driving them both quickly to the edge. Jethro reached it first and threw himself over with a loud "TONY!" as he spurted out over his stomach and chest. The orgasm was so intense, a few strands of his come landed on his face and he unconsciously stuck his tongue out to lick off what had landed on his lips. This sight, and Jethro's internal muscles milking him, sent Tony over the edge and he came with a roar.

The sensation of Tony filling him and rubbing against his prostate, sent Jethro even deeper into his orgasm and he vibrated with its intensity. Tony continued thrusting into him while he emptied himself as his own intense orgasm rippled through his body.

When the fireworks and roaring in his ears cleared, Tony found himself on his knees, still imbedded to the hilt inside Jethro. He was breathing heavily and shuddered as Jethro's internal muscles continued to milk him. As he tried to control his breathing, he took in the sight before him. Jethro still had a death grip on the headboard and his body was painted with his own come. His eyes were tightly shut as he continued to ride on the waves of his orgasm and his mouth was open in a silent "O" as the pleasure consumed him. Tony realized Jethro had come without either of them touching his cock, quite a testament to their passion. Tony noted the handprints he had left on Jethro's hips in the form of bruising and knew he would have similar marks on his arms from Jethro's grip. He might even have some around his waist from Jethro's legs squeezing him. He smiled widely at the thought. As Jethro's convulsions subsided, Tony became aware of his rapidly deflating cock, Jethro had indeed milked him dry.

Tony's cock slid out of Jethro along with a copious amount of lube and Tony's own semen. Tony was glad he had the foresight to place two large bath towels underneath them before their lovemaking, at least he wouldn't have to strip the bed. He placed Jethro's legs on the bed, still spread wide, and sat back for a moment to savor the sight of a well-fucked Jethro. Jethro's grip on the headboard had subsided and his arms were now laying on the pillow above his head. He had a supremely sated look on his gorgeous face and his head was tilted a little to the side. He appeared to be in a deep, contented sleep. There was a light sheen of sweat covering his entire body and his breath was coming in a slow, steady rhythm. Tony ran his eyes over Jethro's now quiescent cock, nestled against his stomach. His gaze moved lower to take in Jethro's hole that was still emitting little bursts of come and lube on the towel beneath them as its spasms ejected the evidence of their intense coupling. His opening was still stretched wide and Tony's cock twitched with interest as he intently watched Jethro's body evacuating his issue.

He chuckled quietly to himself and internally told his cock to stand down. His muscles were sore and he was sure Jethro's ass was sore. He looked at the clock and was surprised to find nearly two hours had passed since they had first come back into the bedroom to play. Since they had gotten down to business right away, he estimated he had been pounding Jethro's ass for over an hour. They had started slow, but the intensity had built into a fiery climax that consumed them both.

As tired as he was, his cock just could not take no for an answer and was rapidly hardening again. Tony wrapped his hand around his traitorous cock and started pumping it rapidly. He quickly brought himself off watching Jethro's body expel his come and rewinding their intense lovemaking in his head. He came with his head thrown back with visions of Jethro in the throes of his orgasm egging him on. His breath was harsh in his lungs as he again came down from another explosive orgasm that threatened to wring the last drop of strength from his body. He placed his hands on Jethro's thighs to steady himself and saw his little extra-curricular activity had not disturbed Jethro. He was still sleeping peacefully in his post-coital slumber.

Tony sat for another few minutes, gathering his strength, before he hoisted himself off of the bed and headed for the bathroom. He cleaned himself up and then wet a washcloth to take care of Jethro. He started with his face and wiped clean every trace of Jethro's own come from his body and then tenderly cleaned his opening and whatever had dribbled below. Jethro never moved during this entire operation, sleeping soundly through his sponge bath. Tony was able to maneuver Jethro onto his side and remove the towels underneath him. He was happy to see their lovemaking had not soaked through the towels and the bed underneath was dry.

Tony threw both the bundled up towels and the washcloth over the side of the bed as he pulled the bedspread up over them both. He spooned behind Jethro, pulling him close to his body as he settled them both. Jethro sighed deeply and pushed his bottom back into Tony's lap. Tony huffed out a laugh and splayed his hand over Jethro's hard stomach, pulling him even closer. This action seemed to satisfy Jethro's unconscious mind and he settled back against Tony with another sigh. Tony leaned forward and placed a kiss to the back of Jethro's head as sleep quickly overtook him. Tony's dreams of them in tuxes before an alter, saying "I Do." before an audience of their friends and family mirrored Jethro's own and both men wore contented, happy smiles as they lay snuggled together in slumber.

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TBC…..


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: I'm changing canon a bit and adding Jackson Gibbs before he was seen on the show. In my world, Gibbs reconciled with Jackson about five years after Shannon and Kelly's funeral and they just became closer after Gibbs hired Tony.**

**A/N ADDITIONAL: Thank you to all Guest reviewers, except one - you know who you are ;-) **

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Tony and Jethro slept another eight hours and awoke around 0600 hours on Sunday morning. They had not moved at all during the night, except to cuddle closer to each other occasionally. Jethro came back to himself with Tony spooned closely behind him and one of his arms snug around his waist pulling Jethro close to his body. Jethro leaned further back into Tony's body and snuggled in. His mind ran over the incredible lovemaking they had experienced last night and he cuddled in even closer to Tony at the memory.

The lovemaking paled in comparison though, to the reason for it. _They were engaged! Tony said yes, they were going to get married! _Jethro's mind whirled with thoughts of rings, tuxes and venues. He wondered if Tony would be alright just having it in their backyard. _Their backyard! _Crap, he was going to have to talk Tony into moving in with him again. Jethro wondered if he should just sell the house and the two of them buy another one together. That was going to be a big change for him, but Jethro was willing to do anything to keep Tony happy and make him comfortable. If they did sell the house, he was going to have to finally let go of his girls.

He had never lived anywhere else since he had been married to Shannon and they had Kelly. Kelly had never known another home. His breathing sped up a little as he contemplated a life without his girls. Without being able to see and touch the places he remembered them last being in. They would never really be gone though. Tony would not expect him to forget them. He was the one who helped him remember them and share them after all.

"I can hear you thinking." Tony murmured into his hair as he tightened his hold on Jethro. "What's up?" he asked, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Jethro sighed deeply and replied, "Just thinkin' about where we're gonna live and all the changes coming."

"Well, I thought we'd be in the house, unless you want to live here?" Tony replied confusedly. "You have spent quite a lot of time here the past few days." he teased.

Jethro turned in Tony's arms so he was lying on his back and Tony was on his side facing Jethro, still holding him tight. "I didn't know if you wanted to go back there. I thought you might want us to sell it and get a house that is just ours." Jethro replied with a surprised expression.

Tony snorted out a laugh and replied, "Jethro, there's no where else I'd want to go. That house is as much a part of you as your coffee is! Besides, I would never want you to leave a place that has so much meaning for you." He softly said, earning a brilliant smile from Jethro.

"It means a lot to me too." Tony continued. "That's where we first made love. It's also the one place in the world I feel the safest. I never really had a home before I lived there with you." Tony finished while studying Jethro's hands shyly.

Jethro raised Tony's hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on his palm. "Then we'll stay. When do you want to move back in?" He asked while holding Tony's hand to his chest.

Tony laughed, but he was extremely glad he was still welcome and wanted in the only place he had ever called home. "How about we take some time away and then we can move me back in before we have to go back to work?" He asks.

"Sounds like a plan." Jethro replies with a sunny smile. He was very relieved Tony didn't want to get a new house. He would if that's what Tony wanted, but he was glad it wasn't. "So where do you want to go?" He asked Tony as he snuggled into Tony's chest.

"Actually, I was thinking Stillwater to start with, at least for a few days. Jackson was really worried about you and he doesn't yet know you're back and we're back together _and_ that we're getting married! I think he should be the first to know." Tony answered while rubbing Jethro's stomach.

Jethro flashed on a memory of he and his father getting into an argument at Shannon and Kelly's funeral. He knew that animosity hadn't lasted too long and they had gotten even closer when he had introduced Jackson to Tony. He and Tony had hit it off right away and were thick as thieves. Jack had always known Jethro played for both teams and never had a problem with it. It also didn't surprise him that Tony had stayed in contact with Jack, even after he had moved out. Jack saw Tony as another son, so Jethro was happy to be able to tell him that Tony would soon be his official son-in-law.

"That's a great idea. Do you still call him every Sunday?" Jethro asked him.

"Yeah. He's been a big help. I've even driven up there as much as I can when it got too bad here." Tony replied, but he was back to staring down at Jethro's stomach nervously.

Jethro squeezed his hand and forced him to look up. "I'm glad you had each other, you know he loves you like a son." Jethro gently told him.

"I know." Tony replied with a soft smile on his face. "Why don't we get ready and surprise him?" Tony asked excitedly. "If we leave by nine, we could be there by lunch! I usually call him in the afternoon, so he won't suspect anything if I don't call."

Jethro smiled at the childlike enthusiasm Tony projected as he was laying out his plan. _God, I love this man!_ Jethro thought before replying, "Okay. We should be able to pack and get everything closed down by then. Why don't you grab a shower while I make us something to eat. Then you can pack while I get a shower?" Jethro offered.

"On it, Boss!" Tony said brightly as he gave Jethro a quick kiss on the cheek and threw off the covers. He raced into the bathroom while Jethro chuckled to himself thinking it was going to be a very good day.

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Criticizing his wardrobe choices was Tony's way of burning off nervous energy. He spent the entire drive to Stillwater re-thinking his choices in shirt: _"Should've worn the button-down", _pants: _"Why didn't I wear a suit? Jeans say you're not serious, don't they?", _shoes: _"I should've worn the Nike's, Ferragamo boots are too flashy!", _even underwear: _"Should've grabbed the boxers, but sometimes the edge chafes under jeans. I should've worn a suit it…." _He had finally come full-circle in his worrying and Jethro cut it off abruptly when he pulled off the country road they were on, turned off the engine and twisted in his seat to face Tony head-on.

He ticked off his points one by one. "First off, Nike's are fine, but I love your boots, gives you an edge of danger. Secondly, even though you know how I love your green button-down, the t-shirt hugs your body and I get to see every well-defined muscle. Third, I love how the jeans hug your ass and I know damn-well you wore them just to drive me crazy. As for your underwear you know I prefer you without, but if you have to wear them, I can get tighty whities off just as fast as boxers."

Throughout his rundown of Tony's wardrobe, Jethro had been inching closer and closer and his voice had dropped an octave lower and lower until it was a deep growl when he got to the part about his underwear. His mouth was hovering right above Tony's and when he got to the part about getting his tighty whities off as fast as boxers, Tony let out a moan and Jethro swallowed it with a very thorough kiss.

Tony didn't know how long they kissed, but he became aware that they both were lacking oxygen when Jethro pulled his mouth from Tony's. He also became aware that they were necking on the side of a country road a few miles from Stillwater. Even though he was not ashamed to be with Jethro in any way, he thought it might be prudent not to advertise in a town where the local law enforcement was Jethro's childhood bully.

Jethro seemed to have a similar thought as he quickly looked around and moved back to his side of the car. Tony could not remember hearing any cars pass them, but his brain was not fully engaged, so he couldn't be sure. Jethro looked at him with his eyes sparking and Tony watched his gaze travel down to the prominent bulge in Tony's now very tight jeans. A bulge, Tony noted, was reflected in Jethro's lap.

Tony was breathing heavily and adjusted himself to ease the ache as he said, "Give me a few minutes, I don't want to greet Jack with this." he smiled ruefully as he waved a hand over his lap.

Jethro panted back, "Yeah, me either, but I might have a better plan."

Jethro turned on the car, and looking to make sure no one was coming, pulled back onto the road and roared off down it for another half-mile or so. He braked suddenly and turned left onto a gravel track that Tony had not even seen. They bounced down a long driveway until they eventually came upon a clearing with a large farmhouse with a huge red barn behind it. Tony estimated they were at least a quarter-mile from the road and in a very secluded spot. The farmhouse had a long-abandoned look to it and Tony wondered if that's where they were going. He was surprised when Jethro drove right past it and up to the doors of the barn. Jethro jumped out of the car and searched around in the tall grass for a minute before holding up a rock with a huge smile on his face.

Tony was sure the confusion shown plainly on his own face, when Jethro smirked back at him and opened the hidden compartment on the rock to shake out some keys. He chose one of them and opened the padlock on the barn door before pushing the huge door to the side. He hopped back into the car and drove them inside, before getting out to shut the door again and locking it from inside.

Tony was looking around the large barn through the windshield when Jethro opened his car door and reached a hand down to pull him up out of the car. The place looked even bigger when he stepped out of the car and he took in the high ceiling and rays of sunlight that were angling in through slats in the wood. The barn was mostly empty, there was a hayloft and some farm equipment against the wall on one side. There appeared to be riding tack hanging from hooks outside of some of the horse stalls and he thought he could see a horse carriage, like you saw in old movies on the other side of the barn.

Jethro maneuvered him so that Tony was leaning against the window for the back seat and had some support before he pressed his body against Tony's and leaned back in for another deep, arousing kiss. Tony moaned into the kiss and continued moaning when Jethro moved down to kiss and nip at his neck at the same time he ran his hands down Tony's sides and un-tucked his shirt. Jethro kissed his way down Tony's stomach until he was kneeling before Tony while he undid his belt and the zipper on his jeans.

He gasped at the sight before him and his erection strained against its confinement. Jethro's nimble fingers quickly had the belt and jeans open and had pushed them, along with his underwear down to just above Tony's knees, allowing his hard cock to bounce free a few inches in front of Jethro's face. Jethro locked eyes with Tony and leaned forward to take Tony's cock into his mouth without his gaze wavering once. Tony was panting as Jethro worked on the head of his cock, his tongue teasing the slit and lapping up what was leaking out before plunging down to take the entire length down his throat. He only did this three times before Tony was screaming out his release while Jethro milked every drop out of him, not releasing his cock until he was sure Tony had emptied himself.

Jethro gave Tony's cock one last kiss before standing. He leaned in to capture Tony's mouth, but was taken by surprise when Tony's arms came up to encircle Jethro, pulling him tight against Tony's body as he spun them around to trap Jethro against the car. Tony kissed Jethro deeply, tasting himself on the other man's tongue. While his mouth was busy plundering Jethro's, his deft hands had undone Jethro's belt and jeans and he now pushed them down to mid-thigh as he gracefully knelt and swallowed Jethro's hard cock in one movement.

Jethro gasped at the sudden hot mouth that surrounded his cock. He grabbed onto Tony's broad shoulders to steady himself as Tony's mouth worked him skillfully. A random phrase Tony had said in the bathroom last night _"…servicing you…" _floated through Jethro's brain and with that phrase and the image it provoked being played out live right in front of him, he came with a roar. Tony suckled him until he too was drained, before standing up and leaning in for a sweet, slow kiss.

When they parted, Tony had a smug, satisfied smile on his face and Jethro cuffed him gently on the back of the head as he snorted out a laugh. Both men moved slightly apart so they could tuck themselves back in and straighten their clothes. When they were decent again, Tony moved to lean against the car next to Jethro and asked, "Not that I mind, but do you know who owns this place or do you just pick random, abandoned farms for your illicit rendezvous?"

"Smartass! How do you think I knew where the key was?" Jethro asked as he again cuffed Tony's head, a little harder this time.

Tony didn't miss a beat as he answered, "You could have put the lock on and hidden the key."

Jethro nodded his head in approval before he asked, "Why would I do that?"

Tony shrugged, "Securing it because you're not here all that often?" he offered.

"Not bad, DiNozzo." Jethro smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I own the place." He told him.

Tony cocked his head to the side and asked with a puzzled frown, "_You_ own it, I thought all you had out here was the store and the house you grew up in where Jackson lives?"

"That's all my family owns, this is the Fielding farm." Jethro looked at Tony expectantly.

"Fielding, Fielding..as in Shannon Fielding?" Tony asked.

"Yup." Jethro smiled at Tony quickly connecting the dots.

"But, I thought your mother-in-law was still alive. Wouldn't the farm have gone to her?" Tony asked, still putting the pieces together.

"Would have, except Shannon's grandfather couldn't stand Joanne. The farm was left directly to Shannon, his only grandchild, bypassed his son and his daughter-in-law altogether. He thought Joanne was a social climbing snob. She made one to many comments about how much a developer would pay for this land when they were visiting. Old Zach Fielding made sure she would never get her hands on it." Jethro explained with a smile.

Tony chuckled as he replied, "Smart man. So, you don't come out here a lot, because you never told me about it."

Jethro shrugged. "Really wasn't sure what to do with it. My dad comes out every week or so to check on it. I hadn't thought of anything to do with it until fairly recently." He told Tony with an enigmatic smile.

"How recently?" Tony asked with a curious look.

"As recently as us pulling off the road about a half-mile back." Jethro replied with a chipper smile.

"Oh-ho! Funny man, you've got jokes!" Tony teased him as he pushed off from the car and stood facing Jethro with his hands resting lightly on Jethro's hips.

Jethro smiled back as he rested his arms on top of Tony's, cupping his elbows. "Nah, my father's the funny man, I just like pulling your chain" Jethro retorted.

"Well, yeah Jethro. I like you pulling my chain too!" Tony told him while wagging his eyebrows up and down.

Jethro pulled Tony close and kissed him before slapping his ass and laughing out, "Brat!"

Jethro suddenly stood straight up and his stance put Tony on alert. Tony instantly quieted and was able to hear tires crunching on gravel. Someone had arrived outside. He looked back at Jethro and with silent communication they both retrieved their backup pieces from the car and moved to either side of the sliding barn door.

Tony found a crack in the wall and was able to see a police car sitting about twenty yards from the barn, halfway between the barn and the house. The cop got out of the car and took a look around. Tony glanced over to the other side of the door and saw Jethro in a similar stance with a sour look on his face. Jethro looked up and Tony motioned with his head, silently asking if they should go out. Jethro shook his head with a sharp no. _Uh-oh, _Tony thought, _this must be Ed. _Tony resumed his surveillance of the cop and saw him take off to check the perimeter of the house.

He saw Jethro dash over and grab a tarp from one of the horse stalls. Tony ran over and helped Jethro cover the car with the tarp before they both took up their former positions by the door. They were just in time to see the cop come from around the house and head to the barn. Both agents melted back into the shadows on either side of the door as Ed walked up and rattled the sliding door handle. Tony was grateful that Jethro had the foresight to lock the door from the inside. He watched as Ed moved to one side of the door and look in through a slat that Jethro had been looking out of just a few seconds ago.

Ed then started around to check the perimeter of the barn. Both Tony and Jethro watched through slats in the barn as he made his way around. He stopped on the far side and looked in again. Tony and Jethro had again taken cover in the deep shadows and they were not spotted. Tony was acutely aware that he was a federal agent with a drawn gun hiding from a law enforcement officer. He didn't know why Jethro felt the need to hide their presence from the local cops like this, but he had heard plenty of stories about Ed and was in no hurry to meet him. They watched from their hiding spots as Ed finished his circuit of the barn. He must have been satisfied with whatever he saw because he re-traced his steps back to his car.

Both men hiding were able to hear him as he stood next to his squad car and called in to his dispatcher.

"_Marla, the Fielding farm is secure, there's no one here. Tell Sarah the next time she calls to pick up her new glasses at McAllister's!" _

He threw his hat disgustedly on the passenger seat as he got back in. The car roared to life and with a spray of gravel sped back off down the driveway, headed for the main road.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and broke cover to join Jethro in removing the tarp from the car.

"You wanna tell me why we're hiding like fugitives from the cops?" Tony asked Jethro as they stowed the tarp back in the stall.

"I've told you about Ed, didn't think you were in a rush to meet him." Jethro sullenly replied as he went to lean against the car again with his arms crossed over his chest, studying the ground.

"No, I don't, but don't you think what we did would look a little suspicious to someone else?" Tony asked.

Jethro's head shot up and Tony was surprised to see the level of hostility in his eyes as he angrily replied, "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"No we didn't, but wouldn't it have been easier to throw open the door, tell him he's on private property and to fuck off?" Tony patiently explained.

"It's not that simple!" Jethro ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated gesture as he started to pace.

Tony leaned back against the car, crossing his own arms and his legs at the ankle and replied, "So, explain it to me. Because from here it looks like we just made a simple situation into something a whole lot more complicated than it needs to be."

"You don't understand! Nothing is simple with Ed! Damn him! It's none of his business." Jethro muttered the last part to himself.

Tony narrowed his eyes as a picture began to form in his mind. "What is none of his business? He's a cop checking out a trespassing report, by my definition, that certainly IS his business!" Tony stood up and blocked Jethro's pacing, standing in front of him, but not too close. "Unless the business you're talking about is us and you just don't want him finding out you're sleeping with a guy." Tony finished in a low, dangerous voice.

Jethro's agitated fidgetting ceased immediately when he heard those words. _Tony thinks I'm ashamed of him. Like Hell! _Jethro thought. Tony had been watching Jethro's face closely for his reaction, hoping he wasn't right. His shoulders relaxed as he saw the determination on Jethro's face to put him first. Jethro took two steps forward and wrapped Tony up in his arms.

Jethro kissed his neck and whispered, "I'm not ashamed of you, of us, but Ed is a son of a bitch who hates me. I don't want him to hurt you." Jethro's arms held him tighter as he explained.

Tony huffed out a frustrated breath as he held onto Jethro tighter. "I'm a big boy Jethro, I can take care of myself."

Jethro chuckled at Tony's words, knowing them to be true, but he still worried. Ed was also in law enforcement, he must have some contacts, he could make their life _very_ difficult.

Tony, still sensing Jethro's reluctance, pulled back to make eye contact before saying, "I've worked in 3 major city police departments and I'm a federal agent with contacts all over the world. How much damage do you think a local sheriff in a, sorry to say Jethro, backwater Pennsylvania town could do?"

Tony smiled when Jethro laughed at his words before adding, "Besides, if he even tries, how much damage do you think I could do to him?" with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Jethro's smile got bigger at Tony's implication. He was right. Ed was very small potatoes compared to their contacts. Hell, with their contacts combined they could probably make Ed disappear from the face of the Earth and never leave a trace. This thought brought a decidedly satisfied expression to his face and Tony raised an eyebrow in question.

"You look like you're having some very evil thoughts Mister! I may have unleashed a monster!" He teased.

Jethro huffed out a laugh and ducked his head in embarrassment before replying, "Yeah, maybe I was fantasizing about making Ed disappear forever, but then I wouldn't have the fun of scaring him whenever we come into town."

It was Tony's turn to laugh before he replied, "There's the second "B" I love so well! Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah. Seeing him again just took me right back to school with him as the bully and me as the punching bag." Jethro said quietly while studying Tony's chest.

Tony pulled his chin up so their eyes could meet and Tony was stunned at the hurt little boy who gazed back out of those blue eyes he loved. Tony was determined to protect that child and never let anyone hurt him again. "Don't worry Love, as long as I'm breathing, he'll never touch you again."

Jethro was overwhelmed at the level of intensity behind Tony's words, and he knew without a doubt they were true. Just as he would defend Tony against all those who sought to harm him. He sighed deeply and pulled Tony closer so they could snuggle in each other's arms for a little while.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony, who had been rubbing comforting circles in Jethro's back with his hands, moved them lower and smacked Jethro's ass. "Cmon stud, it's nearly lunch time and I'm starved. I'm looking forward to one of Jackson's Dagwood sandwiches! Do you think we've given the sheriff enough time to get far away?" He asked.

Jethro laughed, both at the sandwich comment and Tony's perceptiveness at his wanting to linger here for a bit. He didn't think he could ever get one over on him. "Yeah, I think we've given him enough time to get away. We have to make one stop first though."

Tony cocked his head questioningly to the side, silently asking _where?_ as Jethro walked over and unlocked the door, sliding it open. "Mrs. Colfax, across the road, she must have seen us turn in. That's who Sarah was that called it in."

"Ah, local busybody?" Tony asked as he jumped in the driver's seat and moved the car out of the barn. Jethro closed the door again and re-secured it. He tossed the fake rock on the floor in the backseat though, he did not leave the keys.

"Not really. She's the only neighbor around here and keeps an eye on the place. She was like a second grandmother to Kelly, she adored her." Jethro answered as he sat down in the passenger seat. "She wouldn't have called if she knew it was me."

"Okay, show me where to go." Tony replied in a soft voice. He knew Jethro was still raw when it came to his girls, so he knew to tread lightly.

Tony was surprised when Jethro directed him to a driveway not very far from the end of the one they were on. He hadn't noticed it at all on their way in. He smiled to himself, thinking _"Really wasn't thinking about driveways when we came in here."_

Tony guided the car down a surprisingly long, twisty paved driveway to a house that sat almost as far from the road as the farm did. She was not buried in the woods like the farm, but Tony was surprised she had seen them at all. He wondered if she sat in her window with a pair of binoculars. Tony saw a petite, white-haired woman looking fearfully out of a window by the door at him. He saw her face relax into a big smile though when Jethro exited the car and walked towards the door. She threw the door open and enveloped him in a tight hug as he bent down to hug her back and bestow a kiss on her cheek. Tony's jaw twitched as he thought of one of the last places those lips of Jethro's had been, but he behaved himself and put on a sunny smile as he also exited the car.

He heard her speaking as he walked up next to Jethro.

"Oh, Jethro! We were so worried about you when we heard about that explosion! Let me look at you, are you all in one piece?" She held him at arms length and inspected him from head to toe.

"I can assure you ma'am, he's all in one piece!" Tony interjected while turning on the charm.

"Oh dear! Who is this handsome young gentleman with you Jethro?" Sarah Colfax inquired.

"Sarah, this is Tony DiNozzo. I work with him in DC and he's my best friend." Jethro proudly stated.

Tony smiled brilliantly at Jethro as he took Sarah's hand and bowed as he kissed her hand while she giggled like a schoolgirl. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Sarah." Tony gallantly greeted her.

"My oh my Jethro, this one is a definite keeper!" Sarah shrewdly advised him. Tony let out a huff of laughter as Jethro turned a bright shade of red. Jethro recovered quickly though as he snaked an arm around Tony's waist and drew him close, telling her, "Don't ever intend to let this one go ma'am."

Tony smiled fondly at him as Sarah Colfax beamed a bright smile at the two men. "Well it's about time Jethro! I know it's serious young man, he hasn't looked this happy since Shannon. Whatever you're doing Tony, keep it up!"

"Oh, I will ma'am, I will!" Tony answered with a smug smile in Jethro's direction. Jethro just rolled his eyes in response, but he wore a happy smile.

"We have to go Sarah, we're trying to make lunch with my dad. I just wanted you to meet Tony and let you know we'll probably be around more often and not to be worried. We have about four vehicles that might be coming and going. You see my Charger out there, and you already know my truck. Tony has a blue Mustang and there might be a dark blue sedan sometimes." Jethro informed her.

"Alright, young man, I'll keep an eye out. You hurry along now, don't keep Jackson waiting." She shooed them out the door and back to the car where Jethro again took the wheel after hugging her goodbye. Tony again kissed her hand and told her, "It was nice meeting you ma'am. I'm sure I'll see you again soon." Before he climbed into the passenger seat as Jethro started the car.

Jethro backed around by her garage and both men waved as they drove out. Sarah Colfax watched the car drive away and thanked whatever God that listened to her that Jethro had found someone. He had not seemed so alive since before Shannon and Kelly passed. What a looker he had found too! Now, Jethro was a good-looking man, but the two of them together - Lord have mercy! The young man was so polite and seemed to have a genuine affection for Jethro. They were good together, just what Jethro needed. She had been very worried after the girls passed and feared Jethro might follow them close behind.

She looked up to the heavens and winked. "Good job girls, he's very happy." She smiled as a gust of wind blew some leaves off a nearby tree and they did a little dance on the walk in front of her.

_Glad you girls are happy too, _she thought. She was smiling widely as she walked back inside and got on with her day.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…

A/N - Yeah, I know. The boys have been together for awhile and have visited Stillwater before, why hasn't Tony met Ed before now? Stay tuned, all will be revealed. ;-)


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

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Jethro turned off the main road that ran straight through town and approached his father's general store from the back. He parked in the alley behind the store and looked over at Tony after the car was turned off and quiet had descended.

"You ready?" Jethro asked him as he reached over and laced his fingers with Tony's.

"Sure am, you?" Tony replied with an easy smile.

Jethro lifted Tony's hand up and kissed the back of it before pulling it to his chest and holding it close to his heart. "Oh yeah, I'm ready." Jethro treated Tony to that sweet, secret smile that only Tony was allowed to see.

"Then, let's go." Tony squeezed the hand Jethro was holding and Jethro kissed it once more before releasing it. Both men exited the car and entered the store from the back with the key Jethro had on his key ring.

By silent assent Jethro hung back and let Tony enter the store alone. He walked through the curtain in the back and approached Jackson, who was just finishing up with a customer. Jackson caught sight of Tony and the smile already on his face just got bigger. As his customer exited the store he came around the counter and caught Tony in a big bear hug.

"Tony! You didn't tell me you were coming! Though I'm really glad you did, you really sounded down when you called last week. You look pretty good, even if I need to put a little meat on your bones! How long can you stay?" Jackson leaned back a little but kept hold of Tony's arms.

"Open ended, right now I don't have a team." Tony replied, pleased as punch that Jackson was so happy to see him.

Jackson furrowed his brow and squeezed Tony's arms before hurrying over to lock the door and turn the sign to closed. "You're gonna have to explain that young man. You had lunch yet?"

"No! I've been thinking about one of your Dagwood's the whole way up here!" Tony told him with a huge smile.

"Well c'mon then, let's get them started!" Jackson replied, while clapping Tony on the shoulder.

Tony bowed and replied, "Lead on, McDuff!" Letting Jackson walk ahead of him, chuckling to himself at Tony's antics.

They walked to the back of the store and Tony knew the exact second when Jackson laid eyes on Jethro, who was sitting at the table in the back calmly making his own sandwich from the ingredients he had brought out and spread on the table.

His laughter stopped and he came to a halt a few feet from the table. Tony moved up behind him and placed his hands on Jackson's arms for support and leaned in to tell him quietly, "Surprise!"

Jethro stood and quickly walked over to his father when he saw the extreme emotions wash over Jackson's face. He pulled the older man into a fierce hug and whispered into his ear, "Good to see ya dad."

Jethro shared a fond smile over Jackson's shoulder with Tony. Tony had to blink back tears as Jackson's relief and joy permeated the room. Tony patted the older man's back and Jethro grabbed Tony's hand and held it tightly. Jackson pulled back and looked down at Jethro and Tony's clasped hands and then back up at his two boys as a bigger smile blossomed on his face.

"Does this mean what I hope it does?" Jackson asked them.

Tony replied quietly with a small smile on his face, "Yeah, it does."

"There's a bit more Dad." Jethro added as he pulled Tony over to him until Tony was flush against his side. With a hesitant smile, he said, "Tony agreed to marry me."

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jackson's smile never wavered, but he asked Tony, "You sure you want to do that, son?"

Tony laughed at the affronted look on Jethro's face and replied, "Yeah dad, I'm sure."

Jethro snorted out a laugh and smacked Tony's ass. This prompted a high-pitched "Eeep!" to come from Tony and caused Jethro and Jackson to dissolve in laughter while Tony turned red. Jackson pulled Tony in for a hug and assured him he didn't think less of him and he was damned proud to call him son.

Tony relaxed against Jackson and hugged him back tightly, telling him he was beyond pleased that Jackson would now be his dad, officially. Jethro watched them both with a fond expression on his face. _Yeah, he was one lucky bastard! _He thought contentedly.

"C'mon, let's eat!" He told the two men, while patting his father's back.

"Yeah! I'm starved!" Tony exclaimed as he bounded over to the table and started constructing his own sandwich.

Jackson chuckled as he instructed, "Leroy, go get us some drinks while Tony explains to me why he forgave you after what you did." Jackson was in the process of sitting down at the table, so he did not see Jethro wince at his words, but Tony did. He sent Jethro an apologetic glance as he quickly and quietly explained to Jackson Jethro's reasons for trashing his things.

Jethro took his time selecting beverages for the three of them, wanting to give Tony time to tell his father the reasons behind what he had done, and time for him to calm a little. He knew Tony forgave him, but he still felt incredibly guilty for what he had done, intentionally or not.

He stood by the cold case holding the cans and staring down at the floor when a thought occurred to him: The outlet store where he had purchased the cappuccino maker for Tony was only about twenty minutes from here! He could sneak away at some point in the next few days and replace the machine he had destroyed. Buoyed with the thought that he would be able to fix some of the physical damage he had done, he returned to the table to find a subdued Tony finishing off making their sandwiches and his father staring down at the table with a stricken look.

Jethro walked over, placing the cans on the table and bent to place a kiss on his fathers temple and give him a hug.

"It's okay dad, Tony's forgiven me and I was not in my right mind. I was missing them so much, but it's okay now." Jethro told his dad in a quiet voice.

Jackson took a deep breath and looking to make sure it really was okay with Tony, who was smiling softly, he nodded his head once.

"Alright, son. I'm sorry you had to go through that again, but I'm glad you're both okay. I didn't know what to think when Tony told me what happened and that you had run off, but I'm glad you're both okay now and back on track." Jackson told him as he hugged him back.

"I'm so grateful you survived that explosion too." Jackson added. "I wish I had known sooner though! I might have stopped you from running off." He gave Tony a pointed look that Tony squirmed under.

"Jack, I told you why I didn't call right away." Tony started, sounding like this was territory he had already gone over several times with the older man. "I found out he was going to be okay physically and we had a terrorist to catch! Yeah, maybe if you had been there when he got home from the hospital, he wouldn't have run so far away and trashed everything, but remember where the two of you were fifteen years ago?" Both men squirmed at Tony's insight.

Both Jackson and Jethro knew that if Jethro had been thrown back to that time, it would have been unlikely Jethro would have listened to his dad. The memory of their fight at his girls' funeral would have been fresh and he most likely would have lashed out at the older man.

Jackson sighed deeply before replying, "I know it. Doesn't make it any easier though. You both went through hell, and it might have been avoided!" He pleaded with Tony.

Tony reached across the table and took Jackson's hand in his own and squeezed. "Dad, everything happened the way it was supposed to. If it hadn't, Jethro and I might not be in the place we are now. We were close before, but that's increased tenfold. He actually talks now and I don't let him get away with anything." Both Tony and Jackson chuckled seeing Jethro moving uncomfortably in his seat and his cheeks tinged with red.

"I'm right here." Jethro grumbled miserably. He hated being talked about, even though he knew he deserved it. He _had_ been a silent bastard and he hadn't said things he knew he should have. Maybe that explosion had loosened his tongue as well as his marbles.

"Yes you are, and for that I am truly grateful." Tony turned a loving, fond gaze upon him and he felt himself heating up with more than just embarrassment.

Jackson watched the interaction between his two boys and was finally satisfied that all was well. He had been so happy that Leroy had found Tony. His Leroy seemed to be himself again when they had gotten together. Something he hadn't seen since his boy had been married to Shannon. Leroy had always seemed to be uncomfortable in his own skin after his mother had died. He had been thirteen and he had gone from being a happy, well-adjusted child to a sullen, angry teenager in a matter of months. Jackson had hoped he would grow out of it, but he had just seemed to grow angrier, the older he got.

They had some epic battles during Leroy's teenage years and a lot of hurtful things had been said. When Leroy had run off to join the Marines right after graduation, he thought he might never get the chance to make amends with his son, but then a miraculous thing had occurred. Six months after he had left, he actually came back home, and he brought a beautiful, auburn haired angel with him.

Shannon had calmed Leroy and seemed to fill that missing part in his soul. He found out later that she was the one who had pushed for their reunion, she was always the peacemaker. With her, Leroy started to come back to himself and Jackson had started seeing that sweet little boy who had hidden himself away when his mother died come out again. He smiled easier, he laughed more and, while still being a tough-as-nails Marine, was easier to get along with. Shannon had completed Leroy, they were a powerful team.

When Kelly had come along, their family was only strengthened. Jackson loved seeing the man his son had become get all soft and mushy when that baby smiled or laughed at her daddy. He would have done anything for her and Kelly thought her daddy hung the moon. He remembered receiving the news that they both were gone and that Leroy had been injured while on his last deployment. Although they never spoke of it, Jackson knew that injury was a result of the news Leroy had received about his family.

When Jackson heard of the coma his son was in and the extent of his injuries, he wondered if he would be burying Leroy next to his girls. He was ashamed to think now that at the time, he had wondered if it would have been better if Leroy had followed his girls. The pain and anger he went through after awaking was nearly unbearable. He had lashed out at everyone, Jackson was no exception. He had accused Jackson of bringing a 'date' to the girls funeral, when it had only been a friend offering their support.

His anger had turned deadly when he had gone to Mexico to hunt down that bastard drug dealer who had taken his girls. Jackson had begged him not to go, only because he didn't think he'd ever see his son again. He wasn't too upset that Leroy had ended the bastard, he was upset that Leroy might put a bullet into his own brain afterwards. He should have known better. His boy was nothing if not stubborn. He had decided not to give in, and he never did. He smiled as he thought of that rainy Thursday, five years after Shannon and Kelly had died that Leroy had shown up at the store.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

_Flashback:_

_He was just about to close for the day and had his back to the door as he re-stocked some small items behind the counter and felt a stab of irritation that someone had come in. His arthritis was giving him hell with all the rain and he just wanted to go home and sit down, but he forced a neutral tone into his voice as he called out, "Be right with ya."_

_He turned around to face his customer and any words he was about to say died in his throat when he saw his Leroy standing on the other side of the counter, raincoat dripping on the floor. His boy looked older than his years, his hair was rapidly turning silver, but his eyes had the same uncertain, lost little boy look they had once had when he was six years old and scared from a nightmare. No words were necessary. Jackson came around the counter and enveloped his son in a tight embrace that neither broke for a good ten minutes._

_Jackson had felt the tension melt from his son during that time and Jethro had felt safe again and unbelievably relieved. He had recognized what a fool he had been to his father and was grateful they still had time together to make it up to him. Their relationship only got stronger from that point on. _

_End Flashback_

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jackson had found out about Tony by accident.

_Flashback:_

_He had traveled to DC to surprise Leroy on his birthday, and Tony had devised his own plan to celebrate Jethro's birthday. Jackson had arrived to a darkened house and had wrongly assumed his boy was in his basement working on his boat when he let himself into Leroy's house. He quickly discovered his error in judgment when the sounds of passionate lovemaking could be heard emanating from the second floor. He had recognized his son's voice, but was surprised to identify the other voice as male._

_He had always known his boy had been attracted to both sexes, so that was not an issue. What was surprising was that the other man was here and it sounded like they were using the master bedroom in the back of the house. If Leroy slept upstairs, it was usually only in the guest bedroom in the front. As far as he knew, not even the ex's had been granted access to that room. It had been reserved for Shannon's use exclusively. So, the fact that he had brought a man home and that they were using that room, meant this was a big deal._

_Jackson had initially thought he would quietly leave and call his boy from a local hotel, but the facts of the situation kept Jackson there. He left his suitcase next to the sofa and carried the homemade birthday cake he had baked for Leroy into the kitchen. About thirty minutes later he finally heard what appeared to be the culmination of the activities upstairs and settled in with the paper to await further developments._

_It took another twenty minutes before he heard anyone stirring upstairs. He heard the floorboards creak and soft voices and laughter before the water in the shower went on. Jackson smiled when he heard the laughter. It sounded like Leroy had finally found someone to share his life with again. He nodded his head to himself in satisfaction, it was about time. That didn't mean he wasn't going to give those boys a hard time though, someone had to keep them on their toes._

_Jackson got up from the kitchen table and started a pot of coffee, and waited for one of them to appear. The smell of the coffee brewing must have reached them upstairs, because he heard muted conversation again and then nothing. He knew his boy was probably stealing down the stairs at this very instant, with his gun drawn to see who the heck was here, so he didn't flinch when two guns were pointed at him from the archway to the living room. He was quietly impressed though, that he had not heard the other man either. His boy moved like smoke and very few could match him. It appeared this young man could._

_Both men were dressed, but their hair was still wet from their shower Jackson noted before greeting them with, "Is that any way to say hello to your father, Leroy?" In a mock stern voice._

_Leroy immediately lowered his weapon and the other young man quickly followed suit before croaking out, "Your father?"_

_Jackson noticed his tan face seemed to pale a few shades upon hearing that information. Leroy had dropped his chin down and was eyeing his dad with an assessing look. Jackson saw the side of Leroy's mouth quirk up in a fleeting smile as he took in the birthday cake on the table and correctly sussed out his unexpected visit. He had also noted the twinkle in his father's eyes and knew the older man was going to wind his lover up a bit, thinking he must have heard some of what was going on upstairs._

_Leroy stowed his gun and walked over replying, "Yep, my dad." He walked over and hugged his father tightly before pulling back to face the younger man._

"_Tony DiNozzo, this is my father, Jackson Gibbs. Dad, this is my very special agent, Tony DiNozzo." He said all this with a teasing smile on his face that widened when Tony's discomfort ratcheted up._

_Although, extremely uncomfortable about what Jethro's dad might have heard, Tony squared his shoulders and boldly walked forward with his hand out to shake. Jackson shook Tony's hand and was impressed with his strong grip and obvious strength of character. Meeting your lover's father after having hot, monkey sex that he might have overheard was a little more than unnerving, but Tony met it straight on without flinching. Jackson expected no less from someone his son had chosen._

"_It's a pleasure to meet you sir, I've heard many good things about you." Tony said while they shook hands._

_Jackson chuckled as he replied, "Then you must have been talking 'bout someone else, young man. Leroy here, surly didn't have that many nice things to say about me!"_

_Tony was smiling warmly as he replied, "You'd be surprised, sir. Although, I've often noticed that most people fail to tell the ones who mean the most to them, just how special they really are."_

_Jackson nodded approvingly once and said, "You can call me Jack." and was rewarded with one of those rare, brilliant smiles from Tony that usually Jethro was the only one to see._

"_Thank you. Jack it is, then. So Jack, you're the one I need to talk with to find out how 'Leroy' was like as a child, aren't I?" Tony took Jackson's arm and steered him towards the couch in the living room, throwing a smug smile over his shoulder at Jethro who just stood there stunned._

_He heard his father reply as they were walking into the next room, "Oh, have I got stories! Did he ever tell you about getting stuck in the highest tree in town? No, of course he didn't. Well, he…" Jethro groaned as he realized that Tony would soon know all of his most embarrassing moments from when he was growing up. _

_Jethro huffed out a breath and chuckled to himself thinking how Tony had turned the situation around. He had been prepared for his dad to give Tony a hard time, maybe along the lines of 'What are your intentions towards my son?' type of thing, but Tony had immediately ingratiated himself to his father and they had teamed up against him!_

"_I think I'm gonna need coffee." Jethro mumbled to himself as he wandered into the kitchen to the sounds of laughter from the other room._

_End Flashback_

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"Jack, you're awfully quiet over there smiling to yourself. Would you like to share with the class?" Tony asked in a teasing voice.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the first time I met you." Jackson replied with twinkling eyes.

"Oh, Lord. You know I never did find out exactly how long you were there before we came downstairs." Tony asked him in a questioning tone.

Jackson noticed Leroy was also paying close attention as he replied, "Oh, almost an hour."

Tony choked on the soda he was taking a drink of and sputtered out, "An hour!" While he saw Leroy's face redden and he quickly set the sandwich down he was about to take another bite of.

Jackson laughed loudly at the discomfort both his boys were displaying as they thought about all that he may have heard in that hour. "Don't worry boys." He told them while wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes. "I read a lot, so nothing I heard shocked me. I was wondering though, what you might have done to get such a high-pitched sound to come out of Tony. He's got a pretty low voice." He asked them in a curious, innocent tone.

Tony leaned forward and put his reddened face-down on the table muttering, "Oh, God." While Leroy threw himself back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting a death glare at him as his face also turned a deeper red hue.

Yeah, his boys were easy to provoke, but that was one of the reasons he loved them so much. Jackson thought as his laughter rang out through the empty store.

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TBC…

A/N: A Dagwood sandwich is from the comic strip Blondie, very popular here in the states but I'm not sure how popular it was elsewhere. Google an image of Dagwood sandwich and you'll get the idea if you've never heard of it before.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N1: Some people have expressed a wish to find out what's happening at NCIS while the boys are gone. The simple answer is: nothing. Tony no longer has a team and Jethro has not yet done what he needs to do to be reinstated. The story is primarily about Tony and Jethro, so I will stay focused on them during their vacation. They will get back to the office soon enough. I promise, you will enjoy their vacation almost as much as they do ;-)**

**A/N2: Thanks to all your kind reviews and a special shout out to our favorite Guest reviewer - really honey, you should check your meds, seems the dosage is a bit low. Oh, and by the way, **_**you**_** were the one that made personal attacks first, not my fault you can't take criticism from people who are enjoying the story. Just to let you know, any future flames will be deleted, so save your breath. You don't bother me and you certainly don't intimidate me. I just allowed this one to be posted so the people reading who are intelligent enough to stay away from stories, clearly labeled not to their taste, could have a good laugh - cheers! ****:-)**

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Jackson's laughter had died down and his two boys had regained their normal coloring, with some grumbling into his plate on Jethro's part and Tony shaking his head wearing a wry smile. Jackson smirked at both men, unapologetically.

They ate the rest of their meal with light conversation and some gentle teasing from all three men. Jackson started laughing again when Tony recounted an edited version of their encounter at the Fielding farm and his introduction to Sarah Colfax.

"Yeah, there's not much Sarah misses." Jackson pointed out. "Just two weeks ago she had her son chase two local teenagers away who were looking for a love nest." He told them.

Jethro was smiling as he said, "The local teenagers are going to have to find a new spot, I think Tony and I will be spending more time there in the future."

"Will we, now?" Tony asked him with a mischievous smile of his own. "What condition is the farmhouse in?" Tony asked them both.

"Wasn't too bad the last time I was there." Jethro answered before turning to Jackson with a raised eyebrow.

"I was over there last weekend and had Katie, Betsy Wilson's daughter, give it a thorough cleaning. Matt Barnes checked the pipes and water heater about three weeks ago and said they're good to go for the winter. Lester, his brother, went over the roof and I had Terry check over the furnace and generator, everything's in good shape. Old Zach Fielding took good care of that place and you've kept everything up well Leroy." Jackson informed them.

Tony smiled to himself, thinking it might be a nice little getaway for him and Jethro. One thing ran though his mind though, so he asked, "Does it have a TV antenna or is it wired for cable?"

Jethro snorted out a laugh while Jackson chuckled as Tony retorted, "What? I don't mind a country getaway, but even most log cabins have Wi-Fi now! I think it's a reasonable question, we can't spend every waking moment in bed!"

Jackson laughed harder as Jethro shook his head fondly at Tony's cheeky grin.

"Well, you're in luck son." Jackson told him when his laughter died to chuckles. "Zach liked his comforts, so its wired for cable. I don't suppose it would take much more effort to get the internet there. You'll probably want a new TV though, he's got one of those old 60" projection ones. It still works, but the picture leaves a lot to be desired."

Tony looked over at Jethro before asking, "So, you want to spend some time there while we're here? It shouldn't take long to get the cable and internet in and I could get a TV delivered tomorrow?"

Jethro laughed as he replied, "Yes, go ahead. I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot more of us, dad." He informed his father with a smile.

"That's the best news I've gotten in quite a while!" Jackson responded with a huge smile. His demeanor turned serious though as he directed his next question to Tony.

"Tony, you told me you could stay for a bit because you don't have a team. You want to explain that?" Jackson asked.

"It's a long story, don't you have to open back up?" Tony hedged as he moved uncomfortably in his chair and Jethro's face took on a hard look.

"Not today." Jackson replied. "It was slow anyway and I want to spend time with my boys, so spill it." He ordered.

Tony sighed deeply and resigned himself to going over this last week's unpleasant events again. He quickly recounted what had transpired to lead him to being without a team. Jethro interjected his part of the tale and they both ended with telling Jackson of their new status and their new team.

Jackson had a stormy look on his face during their explanation and Tony could easily see where Jethro got his intimidating personality traits. He was just glad both men were on his side. When they had finished their story, it was silent for a few minutes. Jackson still had a hard look on his face and Jethro's lips were compressed tightly in a thin line. A sure sign he was holding on to his temper with a tenuous thread.

Tony again sighed while thinking to himself, _"Great, two angry Gibbs', it's gonna be a fun night!"_

Jackson was the first to shake himself out of his angry thoughts and he reached across the table to grip Tony's hand.

"You kept a lot from me. You know darn well I would have come down there and cleaned house! You didn't have to go through all that by yourself!" Jackson forcefully told him.

"Abby and Palmer had my back, they were great support. I know you would have torn them up, but I took them down a few pegs and Jethro scared the hell out of them the last few days." Tony told him with a fond smile.

"That true, Leroy?" Jackson asked him with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yup. Pretty sure McGee pissed himself." Jethro replied with a smirk.

"Good!" Jackson replied. "Because if I see that spineless jellyfish, he's gonna wish it had been Leroy who found him and don't get me started on that _woman_!" Jackson declared fiercely.

Tony's eyes widened in surprise, but Jethro just had a satisfied look on his face. Tony thought that he was glad he wasn't McGee or Ziva when two pissed off Gibbs men were after them.

"I appreciate the offer Jackson, but its been taken care of. Both of them have seen the error of their ways, and I don't think either of them will be messing with me anytime soon." Tony advised him.

"Alright son, but you just let me know if they start again. Nobody messes with one of my kids!" Jackson told him.

Tony was absurdly pleased with Jackson's declaration and his pleasure only increased when Jethro added, "You'll have to make do with whatever is left when I get through with them, dad."

Jackson nodded approvingly at his boy and both Gibbs men turned to Tony with varying degrees of love on their faces. Jackson's look was purely paternal, whereas Jethro wore a look that said, _'Nobody messes with what's mine without retribution, and I'm going to show you how much you are mine when we're alone!'_

Both expressions sent a spike of joy through Tony. He was so lucky to have these men in his life. Jackson was the father he had always hoped to have growing up and he never thought he would ever have the love of a man like Jethro. He had never been put first in anyone's life, but he knew without a doubt that he was the most important person in Jethro's life, just as Jethro held the same place in Tony's life. He smiled warmly at both men and nodded back, he didn't trust his voice not to fail on him.

"Okay then, that's enough serious talk! Let me gather up a few things for supper and we'll head home to get you two settled in. How about my famous meatloaf for dinner?" Jackson asked his boys.

"Sounds good, dad." Jethro replies as Tony nods his agreement. He's still a bit overwhelmed at the support he's received.

Jackson slaps the table and stands up while Jethro gets up to make sure everything is closed down properly and they have all the fixings for dinner. He places a hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezes it to let him know he should just sit there until they are finished and Tony is grateful for the gesture. He wasn't sure his legs would hold him right now anyway.

As his fiancée and his father bustle around the store, closing it down and gathering supplies, Tony calms himself with the normality of their actions. As unbelievable as it may be, these men are his family and they care deeply for him. A warm, happy feeling floods Tony's body, erasing all the slights, harsh words and indifference he's had to endure his entire life. He was finally home with people who love him and miss him when he's not there.

'_Life is good.' _Tony thought to himself.

Tony was pulled from his happy musing by both Jackson and Jethro standing next to the table, smiling at him.

Jethro ran his fingers through Tony's hair and softly asked him, "You ready to go?"

Tony smiles a wide, genuine smile as he replies, "I sure am, let's go home!"

Both Gibbs men nod approvingly at Tony's choice of words and they all make their way out the back of the store, securing it on their way out, before heading home.

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Tony sat on the bed in the guest room in Jackson's house still wrapped up in the haze of happy he had been in since leaving the store. Jackson was downstairs assembling his meatloaf and whatever else he had decided to make for dinner. He looked up when he heard the door close and saw Jethro reaching back to lock the door behind him.

Jethro stalked over to the bed and pushed Tony down on his back as he climbed up on the bed himself. He undid Tony's belt and the zipper on his jeans before pulling off his boots. Then in one quick move, he had pulled Tony's jeans and underwear off. Jethro licked his lips at the sight before him: Tony was lying on top of the comforter, naked from the waist down. Tony's cock had hardened rapidly as Jethro had undressed him.

Jethro reached up and pulled Tony's t-shirt off and then grabbed each leg to remove his socks, leaving his love completely naked and fully hard before him. Tony's breathing had increased but neither man had uttered a word, nor made a sound. They had played this game in this room before. After Jackson had been privy to their very vocal lovemaking on Jethro's birthday, neither man wanted a repeat performance. Jethro never had a problem with silence, but he was surprised that Tony could be just as quiet during lovemaking. Although, to be fair, they were both pretty loud when they didn't have to worry about someone they knew overhearing them.

Tony squirmed beneath him and reached up to run his hands over Jethro's shirt. Besides kicking off his shoes before getting on the bed, Jethro was still fully clothed, but Tony saw how aroused Jethro was and ran his hand down to cup the bulge in Jethro's jeans. Jethro moaned quietly and pressed himself against Tony's hand. He felt Tony shiver beneath him and Tony gasped out as he wriggled around to feel more of Jethro. Jethro knew that Tony loved this. It really turned him on when he was completely naked and Jethro was not. They had reversed the scenario once and Jethro had been overwhelmed at the sensations. Rubbing his naked body against Tony's clothed one was incredibly erotic. He had felt vulnerable, but well taken care of. He knew Tony would not hurt him, he had felt cherished.

Tony wore that same expression now. He looked well-loved and supremely content, but there was also a sharp edge of desire there. Tony's pupils had dilated and his cock was rock hard. Jethro had been prepared to take Tony hard, which he would probably still do, but he was going to do something else first. Jethro reached down and unzipped his jeans, allowing his hard cock to spring free. Tony moaned low in his throat and wriggled around some more, anticipating Jethro shoving that hard cock inside of him.

Jethro leaned forward to take Tony's mouth in a bruising kiss as he reached into the back pocket of his jeans to extract the tube of lube he had hidden there when they had first gotten to the house. He pulled his mouth away from Tony's, earning a small sound of disappointment from the other man. He kissed and licked his way down Tony's chest and stomach before reaching Tony's erection, which was curved up and back, dribbling pre-come on his own abs. Jethro paused to admire the gorgeous cock and turned his gaze up to lock onto Tony's eyes, which were watching him intently. He wrapped his free hand around Tony's cock and pulled it back slightly. Without breaking eye contact, he plunged his mouth down over it and sucked deeply. He watched as Tony's eyes rolled back in his head and his head flopped back onto the pillow as he gasped his pleasure.

Jethro smirked around the cock in his mouth and then went to work to quickly bring Tony off. While his mouth was busy suckling on Tony's hard cock, his fingers were busy stretching Tony to accommodate his own girth after he had opened the tube of lube and spread some on his own erection and fingers. He had only been working Tony's cock and ass for a few minutes when the urge to be inside Tony grew nearly unbearable. Jethro brought Tony to completion quickly, sucking deeply as Tony gasped through his orgasm.

Jethro gave Tony's cock one last, loving lick before moving up quickly, spreading Tony's legs a bit more and pushing completely inside of him.

Tony gasped out again at the feel of Jethro filling him and his hands came up to grab onto Jethro's shirt and pull him closer. Jethro chuckled and braced one arm next to Tony's head while the other reached around to one of Tony's legs, coaxing them higher up around his waist to allow for a deeper penetration. Tony whimpered and squirmed against him as his deep thrusts drove him crazy.

Anyone looking at them from a distance would probably come on the spot, just from the sheer eroticism of the scene. A gloriously naked Tony, with his legs spread wide and wrapped around a mostly clothed Jethro. Jethro thrusting hard and deep into Tony, his jeans pushed down so only his tight ass was exposed. Jethro was running his fingers through Tony's hair while he nibbled on his neck and thrust forcefully into Tony. Tony's hands were fisted in Jethro's shirt and he was pushing back to get more of Jethro inside of him while he rubbed his again hardening cock against Jethro's stomach.

Tony buried his face in Jethro's neck to muffle his moans as Jethro's thrusts became even harder and deeper. He was nearly sobbing with the intense pleasure of Jethro moving inside of him. He felt his balls drawing up tightly to his body and realized he was about to come again as the wave overwhelmed him and his come spurted out over his and Jethro's stomachs. He vaguely heard Jethro growl before he felt Jethro pounding even harder as he emptied himself into Tony.

Tony was not aware of when Jethro stopped thrusting into him, nor did he recall when Jethro withdrew from him and cleaned them both up. He was somewhat aware of Jethro doing something to his phone before setting it on the nightstand and getting back into bed. Tony found himself under the covers and wrapped tightly in Jethro's arms as his face nuzzled into Jethro's neck, inhaling deeply. He had one hand resting on Jethro's chest and he was aware Jethro was now as naked as he was under the covers. He sighed deeply as he snuggled closer and drifted off into sleep, very safe and secure in Jethro's arms.

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Jackson may have been old, but he was no fool. He knew what his boys were up to. Tony had taken their bags up to the room they always shared as soon as they got inside the door. Leroy had hung around the kitchen to make sure Jackson was busy preparing dinner, before he casually asked how long it would be until dinner was ready.

Jackson smothered a smile as he informed him it would all be done in about three hours. Leroy had then informed him that he was going upstairs to '_talk'_ to Tony about a few things and they would be down in time for dinner. Jackson chuckled to himself as Leroy practically ran up the stairs and Jackson heard the distinctive sound of the lock being engaged on their door.

Not long afterward, as Jackson was putting the ingredients together for their meatloaf, he heard the springs on their bed getting quite a workout. He stopped for a few minutes to listen and was impressed not to hear any sounds from the two men. He guessed they were not about to repeat their performance for him, like on the night he met Tony. He was quite sure the sound of the bedsprings squeaking did not register with them at all, he knew they were completely focused on something else.

Jackson went about his tasks assembling their meal and putting it in the oven to cook. As he was starting his clean up of the kitchen, he realized that everything was quiet upstairs. He shook his head with a fond smile on his face. He finished up cleaning and went to sit in the front room to read while the food cooked and his boys slept.

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About two hours later, Jackson heard what sounded like an alarm beeping upstairs. He figured one of them must have set it before dropping off. He went back to reading his book since the food would not be done for another 45 minutes.

About half an hour later, both of his boys came walking down the stairs looking refreshed after what sounded like a shared shower. He lowered his book and noted that Tony was walking gingerly and Leroy had a smug smile on his face.

"Dinner's almost done. Tony why don't you set the table and Leroy can help me get everything set out." Jackson instructed them.

Tony smiled and replied, "Okay Jack." While Leroy replied with just an, "Okay."

Jackson didn't say anything to either of the men in the flurry of activity surrounding setting the table and getting all the food out of the oven and set out. All three men sat down to eat and Jackson again noted how slowly Tony lowered himself into the chair and squirmed a little to find a comfortable spot.

They started eating and both of his boys commented on how good everything was and he voiced his thanks. He had another topic on his mind though and opened with, "So, did you boys have a good talk upstairs?"

Jackson saw a bit of confusion on Tony's face, but he caught on quickly and must have surmised that was the reason Leroy gave for their absence. He replied, "Yes, really good talk, very enlightening."

Leroy's smug smile was back in place as he answered, "Yup, good talk. We dove deeply into some matters and cleared everything up."

"Well, that's good." Jackson replied, before adding, "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to hear each other talk over those noisy bedsprings."

Tony froze with his glass halfway up to take a drink with a stunned look on his face. Leroy's face lost that smug smile and his eyes got big as saucers while his face turned a deep shade of red. Tony saw his reaction and a big, bright smile broke out on his face and he started laughing.

Tony lifted his glass in a toast and Jackson clinked his own against Tony's as Tony laughed out, "Well played dad, well-played!"

Even though Leroy's face was still red, he wore a rueful smile and shook his head at their antics. He should've known better than to try to pull one over on his father. They all started eating again and enjoying each other's company for the rest of the evening.

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TBC…


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: I have played with birth dates a little and have shaved about 10 years off Gibbs, making him only 8 years older than Tony…Enjoy! ;-)**

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Jethro brought his car to a stop near the front steps of the house at the Fielding farm Monday morning. As the sound of their tires crunching on the gravel faded away, Tony took his time studying the house. Tony hadn't realized how big it was when they were here yesterday, but in all fairness, he had other things on his mind.

Last night Jethro and Jackson had given him more specifics on the house and a little background on Zach Fielding. Zach and his father had built the house themselves right after the turn of the century. It had six bedrooms, four full baths and 1 half bath. Indoor plumbing was something of a luxury at that time, but like Jackson had said, old Zach liked his comforts. Plus, his young bride was pregnant and he didn't want her traipsing in the cold to an outhouse, he was a very thoughtful man. He came from a wealthy family outside Philadelphia who had owned a large horse farm and were well known as top breeders of champion thoroughbreds. Zach, himself, had quite an eye for talent and was literally one of the best 'horse traders' in the business.

Jackson and Jethro had informed him that there were several miles of fenced trails that ran through the forest that surrounded the farm and the farm included an open area about a quarter mile behind it with a training circle and additional horse barn with enough stalls to house nearly 30 horses. That barn also had an attached living area used by the stable boy who cared for the animals, but it was also now unused. The trails were big enough for a car or truck to traverse and Jackson had occasionally used them to check out the outbuildings. However, there was another long driveway, with a locked gate that came in off another street on the back of the property that went directly to the stable. In all, the property covered an impressive 2,000 acres.

Tony was shocked there was so much there, he had estimated, maybe 50-100 acres, based on the farm. He was looking forward to exploring those trails with Jethro and maybe playing a little stable boy and master with Jethro in the other residence. Jethro knew what he had been thinking, probably because he was thinking the same thing. Their twin mischievous smiles were immediately noticed by Jackson and he had commented, _"Oh Lord! I can see the stable boy's house is going to get quite a workout!"_

Both men had again flushed deeply at Jackson's perceptiveness, they would never get anything past him. Tony changed the subject, again asking about the farmhouse, like why were there so many bedrooms and bathrooms? Did they entertain a lot? He had thought that Shannon's father was also an only child.

Jackson had explained that Zach had always envisioned a large family, and he wanted to be prepared. That was not to be, though. Zach's wife, Mary had become pregnant six times during their twenty-four year marriage and had lost all but the last, Shannon's father, William. Born in 1922, he had been a sickly child and based on the fates of his older siblings, was not expected to live very long. Mary, after suffering the heartache of losing five other children, one who had managed to live to the age of three, was nearly inconsolable at the thought of losing yet another.

Mary's health deteriorated to the point that a minor cold about four months after William was born morphed into pneumonia that took her life in less than a week. She had no fight left in her. Zach was devastated, but he stayed strong for his son and he made sure his boy was safe and had everything he needed to thrive. Against all odds, William survived and eventually grew into a fine young man.

William's only mistake, according to Zach, was to marry that stuck-up social climber Joanne Markum. Joanne came from a comfortable middle-class family in Benton Pennsylvania, about twenty minutes away from Stillwater. They had met at a picnic social in Benton when William was thirty-eight and Joanne was twenty-four. Joanne was a very attractive young woman and William was smitten from the moment he laid eyes on her.

Tony was surprised that there was such a big difference in age between William and Joanne, Jethro fielded that one. _"Shannon's father was very shy, hardly ever said two words to anyone. I think the entire twelve years I knew him, I only talked to him about five times. You think I'm a functional mute? He made me look like a talk show host!" _Tony and Jackson had laughed and then Jack added, _"I think it had to do with his poor health as a small child. The man was smart as a whip, don't get me wrong, but it was never easy for him with strangers. He was a wonder with horses though, had his daddy's gift for picking out the rose among the weeds. That's why the family stables outside Philly went to him. I always wondered if he arranged it with his daddy to give the farm in Stillwater to Shannon so Joanne couldn't sell it out from under him. He was never a fighter, but he sure had a strong will. He got that from Zach." _Jackson said with a shake of his head.

Zach had initially been quite taken with Joanne, but then her true nature had not revealed itself until they had been married four years and Shannon had come along. Joanne came from a comfortable background, but she always thought she deserved more. She had pushed William into joining a country club in an affluent suburb of Philadelphia and had dragged him to any society event she could, bragging to anyone who would listen that they were from _the _Fielding stables.

William had only put his foot down once.

Joanne had wanted to impress some other society wives she craved attention from and had informed him that they were sending Shannon to a prestigious private school where she would also live. William had absolutely vetoed that idea and had instead moved them back to Stillwater. He had enough of phony socialites and wanted his precious daughter to have as normal a childhood as possible, something they would never have in Philadelphia. Joanne had proceeded to make his life miserable because of that, but Jackson told them with a snort, that William had gotten the last laugh on that too. They had moved back to the Fielding farm until their home was completed nearer to town and Zach had pinned his daughter-in-law down, telling her he would be happy to pay for a divorce for his son if she was so unhappy here and he guaranteed she would get nothing.

Jackson and Zach had always gotten along really well and both men were pleased when Jethro and Shannon got married. They had spent many holidays together because of that and Jackson remembered how delighted Zach had been when Kelly was born. Jackson had also heard Joanne's offhand comments on the value of the property and what it would fetch when it was in their possession. She had apparently not known that Zach had also heard and agreed with his son that she would never get her hands on the farm. When he died, after Kelly had just turned three, Joanne was quite upset to learn that Shannon and her spouse or descendants would retain ownership of the farm. She was also further incensed to learn that the Fielding Stables in Philadelphia were going to William alone. She had no say in their running and would not profit if they were eventually sold off. If her husband pre-deceased her (which he did), the stables would go to Shannon and her spouse/decedents (which it did).

Tony had been stunned. He had asked Jethro, "_So, you own a big horse stable in Philadelphia too?" _To which Jethro had replied, _"Yep." _with that enigmatic little smile on his face. Tony had huffed out a breath and replied, simply _"Okay."_ Both Jackson and Jethro had chuckled at Tony's perplexity.

Jethro had explained that the stable was run by a man and his son who had worked for Zach and William and someone who they trusted. It was still quite profitable and still widely respected in the horse community. Tony had replied that he already knew that. His father had tried romancing a woman who was into that lifestyle and he had heard about the Fielding Stables quite often when they had been dating. Jethro had smirked at him, but had said nothing more about it.

William had been as devastated by Shannon and Kelly's deaths as Jethro and Jackson had been and his health declined rapidly. Two months after the girls had been buried, he had a massive coronary in his den and was not found until the next morning by the housekeeper. Joanne had taken a solo cruise to console herself over their deaths and it had taken nearly three days to find her and advise her of her husband's demise. She had played the tragic widow to perfection and kept up the ruse until the reading of the will at William's attorney's office a week later. Even though she had been left with 15.5 million dollars (a half million for every year they had been married), she had been cut off completely from the Fielding Stables, which had gone directly to Jethro since Shannon and Kelly had pre-deceased him.

Joanne had erupted in a torrent of threats and promises of retribution against Jethro for taking what was rightfully hers and had to be physically removed from the office. She must have thought that the provisions in her father-in-laws will would not carry through to William. She found out, too late, that William's resolve was just as unbending as his father's. When peace had been restored, William's attorney assured Jethro that the will was airtight and she had no grounds to overturn it. Jethro, not caring a bit about anything monetary, was however very happy that Joanne would not get what she wanted. She had tried several law firms in several cities over the next few years and they had all told her the same: the will could not be broken and she should invest her money and forget about Fielding Stables. So, after a long and twisting journey, the Fielding name was finally put to rest. With the death of William, and Shannon and Kelly before him, the Fielding bloodline was lost. There would never be anymore children or grandchildren to carry on the name.

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Tony sat running all these facts through his mind as he contemplated the farm house. He was sad that the Fielding name was lost and Zach's strong personality would never again walk the Earth in his decedents.

Tony was brought out of his reverie by Jethro squeezing the hand that he had taken into his own without Tony even being aware of it. He looked to his left to find a gentle smile on Jethro's face. He had no doubt that Jethro knew what he had been thinking and shared the sentiment. Tony squeezed back, letting Jethro know that even now, he would do anything to give his girls back to him if it were in his power. Jethro reached over and kissed Tony's cheek. He was overwhelmed with love for the selfless man he had fallen for.

He pulled Tony's hand to his lips and tenderly kissed the back of it before saying, "C'mon, I'll show you around."

Tony dazzled Jethro with one of his smiles as he pulled his hand back and said brightly, "Okay!" before exiting the car and bounding up the stairs to check out the large porch. Jethro shook his head and smiled fondly before getting out of the car himself and joining Tony.

Tony remarked when Jethro had joined him up on the porch that it would be nice to have a porch swing and some furniture out here, there certainly was enough room. Jethro took Tony's hand and led him off to the right, stopping about ten feet from the end of the porch and, never taking his eyes off of Tony, used his other hand to point up. Tony's gaze followed upward until he saw two large hooks set about eight feet apart and realized they were already set up for a swing.

Tony looked back down and saw Jethro was wearing his smug grin again, so he commented, "Okay smart guy, there is already a swing, so where is it?"

Jethro crowded close and nuzzled his face into Tony's neck murmuring, "In the barn. One of those large, covered things was it."

Tony sighed and brought his arms up around Jethro to pull him even closer while he played with the short hairs at the base of Jethro's skull. "You think we can put it up?" he asked in a low, teasing voice.

"I think that can be arranged." Jethro answered him in a husky voice. Tony's body started to respond to Jethro's sexy voice. Even though they had mind-blowing sex yesterday afternoon in Jackson's guest bed and later in the shower, they had stayed up late talking about what happened to the Fieldings and Tony had spent time online ordering the things he wanted for the farm. So, they hadn't done more than sleep last night and Tony had hopped out of bed this morning, eager to get to the farm and explore.

He had ordered three televisions, one a 60 inch flat screen, the other two more modest at 50 inches and 42 inches. He had intended to put the largest in place of the old projection TV that was already here and the 50 inch in whatever bedroom they decided to use. The smallest one was for the kitchen. Tony often had the TV on when he was cooking. The TV's would be delivered this afternoon, and the cable company was coming out tomorrow morning to get the cable and internet set-up.

Tony had received a substantial trust fund from his mother's estate that his father was unaware of and he had re-invested and rarely touched. Whenever he wanted to splurge though, it was available. He felt that urge now, so he was anxious to get a look at the place to see what he needed to get. In that frame of mind, he pulled back from Jethro and kissed him on the cheek, breaking the spell Jethro was trying to weave around him.

"C'mon stud, we have work to do first, we can play later." Tony emphasized this by patting Jethro on his ass and walking back to the main door. Jethro huffed out a frustrated breath, but he fully understood that he wouldn't get anything from Tony until his curiosity was sated, so he turned around and walked over to the front door.

Tony was running his hands over the thick, hand carved door and marveled at the rich luster of the wood. "Is this cherry wood?" he asked Jethro when he came over to stand next to Tony.

"Yep. Zach cut and finished the door himself." Jethro told him as he ran his gaze over the ornate, but sturdy door. The door was wider than normal, about twice the size of a standard door, and Tony estimated it stood about eight and a half to nine feet tall. Tony admired the carved scene across the top and bottom of the door showing a herd of wild horses running. The center had an oval of frosted, beveled glass, and there were intricate carvings around the window that showed a vine with small flowers that Tony knew, but could not immediately identify.

"The flowers are Dianthus, but they're more commonly called 'Sweet Williams'." Jethro supplied, again knowing what Tony wanted without his having to ask.

"Oh! I remember those!" Tony exclaimed. "My mother loved those. They're usually pink, purple or red, aren't they?" Tony asked. At Jethro's affirmative nod, he went on: "She loved the name, she'd sometimes call them Sweet Tonys." he laughed softly. "We had a bunch of those in the garden, near the fountain. Boy, they smelled good. Dad had the gardeners pull them all out after she died though, said they reminded him too much of her." He finished sadly as he traced the delicate flowers in the wood.

Jethro felt a surge of anger run through him as he thought of Seniors selfishness. The thought of a little eight year old boy who just wanted something to remind him of his mother and having it taken away because it bothered his father really ticked him off. He never got along with Senior, but his complete disregard for his son's feelings when Tony had needed him the most was unforgivable in Jethro's eyes. Senior only ever cared about what he wanted, he never put himself out for anyone, certainly not his son.

Jethro moved closer to Tony and put his arm around his waist to pull him even closer. Tony snuggled in to Jethro's side and sighed deeply before saying quietly, "Yeah, I know, it sucks. But there isn't anything you can do about it now, that time is lost."

Jethro kissed Tony's temple and whispered to him, "Oh, I think there's plenty of things I could do to him."

Tony chuckled quietly and responded, "Yeah, I know you could, but I want you with me, not in jail _and _he's so not worth it!"

Jethro smiled at Tony as he said, "You're right, he is not worth it, but I can still dream about what I could do."

Tony laughed and patted Jethro's stomach. "As long as it stays a dream. If we're lucky, we'll never set eyes on him again."

Jethro turned Tony around to face him and pulled him close for a deep, passionate kiss that left Tony breathless and rethinking his plan to 'play later.' Jethro pulled his upper body back slightly while keeping Tony's hips pressed close to his own with Jethro's arms holding him tightly. "Now you know, we're not that lucky." Jethro told him with a smile.

Tony chuckled as he wriggled his hips against Jethro's causing the other man's desire to spike again. Jethro sucked in a sharp breath as a smug smile broke out over Tony's face. Tony ran his hands down Jethro's back and cupped Jethro's ass, pulling their erections even closer together and pulling a moan from Jethro. "I don't know Jethro, I think I'm pretty lucky, _aand_ I think you're about to get really lucky!" Tony told him in a smoky voice that sent another jolt of desire straight to Jethro's cock and forcing another moan from him.

Jethro dived in for another kiss and then started nibbling on Tony's jaw, causing the other man to moan also and bringing a fond smile to Jethro's face. "I think we should take this inside, before we lose control." Tony gasped out.

Jethro chuckled low in his throat and replied, "I think you're right, there's a few things I want to show you." Jethro pulled back and produced the key to the front door as Tony chuckled out his own reply, "Yeah, I think there's a few things I want to see." as he waggled his eyebrows.

Jethro reached back and grabbed the bulge in Tony's jeans while saying, "Oh, you'll see everything, I promise." before giving Tony a peck on the cheek and disappearing inside the house.

Tony had lost his breath when Jethro grabbed him and it took a few seconds for his words to register in his lust-fogged brain. When it finally registered, a huge smile broke out on his face as he quickly followed Jethro inside. He glanced at the small flowers adorning the door again as he started to close it and he again reached out and traced their petals with his fingers. It was strangely appropriate that the home he and Jethro would share, here in Stillwater, had such a personal symbol to him etched on the door, it pleased him greatly. He smiled wistfully as he thought of his mother and how much she would have liked Jethro. Taking a deep breath, he nodded to himself, satisfied that some of the ghosts of his own past had been lain to rest but never forgotten and closed the door, going to find Jethro and his future.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: Thank you to all Guest reviewers, your kind words are appreciated, also - I have played with birth dates a little and have shaved about 10 years off Gibbs, making him only 8 years older than Tony. I have also changed the introduction of Senior to better fit my story. You will be seeing him in the future, but not yet. Back to the show - Enjoy! ;-)**

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony closed the ornate front door and turned around to find himself standing in a two-story foyer with a beautiful crystal chandelier. The walls were painted in a deep hunter green and the floors, woodwork and staircase were the same warm cherry wood as the front door. The wood seemed to glow from within as the light from the chandelier bounced off of it. Hallways lead off to the right and left of the foyer.

There were two, long black leather couches underneath the two large windows on either side of the door. A long-case grandfather clock sat off to the left, next to a closed door and the left-hand hallway. There was a beautiful antique mahogany console table directly in front of Tony that was nestled in the alcove created by the wide staircase that started on the right, next to the one hallway and curved back up to the left, disappearing up to the second floor. The table held about eight brass statues of horses, posed either standing majestically or running, with little plaques attached giving their names and the various races they had won.

Tony was impressed to see several had won the Kentucky Derby and two, in particular, Sir Barton in 1919 and Gallant Fox in 1930 had both been triple crown winners.

"There were two more." Jethro informed him as he walked in from the hallway on the right. Tony looked at him questioningly and he went on, "Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948 were both triple crown winners. Their statues are at the house in Philly. William picked them both and had a hand in their training, so the victories were his. Zach was very proud of him." Jethro told him.

Jethro walked up and wrapped his arms around Tony from behind as he continued, "He had a few near misses too. Tim Tam in 1958, Northern Dancer in 1964 and Pleasant Colony in 1981 all won the Derby and Preakness and in 1988 Risen Star won the Preakness and Belmont, but Citation was the last triple crown winner."

Tony had covered Jethro's arms with his own and pulled him tighter against his body as he listened to Jethro. He sighed as he remarked, "That would be so cool to have a horse running in those races, did you ever go to any of them?" he asked.

Jethro kissed his neck as he replied, "Yep. We were all there in 1988 for Risen Star, all three races. I had just come back from a deployment in March and wasn't scheduled to go back out until the following January. That was a good year." Jethro said softly. He tightened his arms around Tony as he continued, "We traveled all over that year. William rented us an RV and we spent Kelly's summer break traveling. We saw Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. We went to Seattle and then down the west coast, through San Francisco, the Redwood Forest."

Jethro's voice got softer as he recounted his big family vacation and Tony gripped his arms tighter in a silent show of support as he continued. "We visited Disneyland and we even took a studio tour in LA." Jethro pinched Tony's arm as Tony let out an astonished "No way!" at that news and both men chuckled quietly. "Yes way, smartass! We went as far South as San Diego and then went through the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. I drove through Monument Valley in Idaho and up through the Rockies to Denver.

Tony smiled as he listened, picturing all the places in his mind as Jethro's voice rumbled with his chest pressed against Tony's back. "We drove through Oklahoma and Texas to get to New Orleans, spent a few days there. We then traveled the Gulf Coast all the way down to Key West. We stopped at Cape Canaveral and took a tour. Kelly was thrilled, she told me she wanted to be an astronaut. That was not long after Challenger exploded, so I wasn't really happy about that, but she was only five." Jethro whispered and then, clearing his throat he said in a stronger voice, "We actually took her back for a shuttle launch in December of that year, never seen or felt anything like it, it was incredible." Tony heard the hitch in Jethro's voice and tightened his grip on the other man's hands.

"Well, since we went to Disneyland, we had to check out Disneyworld, we had a blast, but if I ever hear that 'Small World' song again, I'll shoot someone." Tony could hear the disgust in Jethro's voice and he chuckled as he settled more comfortably in Jethro's arms. "We went to Savannah Georgia and the last stop was Myrtle Beach before heading home. Biggest damn circle I ever went in, and I would never trade the memories for anything." Jethro finished as he again tightened his arms and nuzzled his cheek next to Tony's.

Tony closed his eyes and basked in the closeness of Jethro as he replied with a voice husky with emotion, "That sounds like a great trip. I've never been to any of those places, always wanted to go though. Kelly was a lucky little girl to have you as a father. If my mom hadn't died, I'd like to think we would have done something like that, just me and her. She loved to travel. She took me to Boston when I was six and we visited Martha's Vineyard a few times, but nothing else. She got too sick to go anywhere and, well you know how my father views things. Could hardly see him loading up the family truckster and taking off across the country, unless it involved impressing someone or making a business deal." Tony said resignedly.

Jethro was once again astounded at the level of selfishness Senior stooped to. He wished he could have met Senior when Tony was eight. However, he would have only been sixteen at the time, maybe when Tony was twelve and the bastard disowned him. Yeah, he would have been twenty and already a Marine, the son-of-a-bitch would have been no match. Not that he was now either, he was almost itching to drive to New York and track him down. Yeah, it would only take about 2 hours to make it up there and then he could…

"JETHRO!" Tony shouted. Jethro was surprised that Tony had turned around in his arms and it seemed he had been calling his name for a few minutes. He had really gotten lost in his revenge fantasy against Senior. "Are you back with me now?" Tony asked with a pointed look.

Jethro ducked his head and looked back up at Tony with a sheepish look on his face as he replied, "Yeah." Before looking back down. Tony huffed out a breath and said in a stern voice, "Jethro! Look at me!"

Jethro took a deep breath before looking up to meet Tony's sharp gaze, because he knew what was coming. He squared his shoulders and looked into Tony's emerald eyes and knew right away he was in for it. Tony's eyes looked like they were spitting fire and his face wore his _Don't even think about fucking with me! _look.

Tony squeezed his arms tighter and he would not let Jethro look away from him. "I want you to listen very carefully, Jethro." Tony started. "He is NOT worth it! He is not going to ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me! You STAY AWAY FROM HIM! Do you hear me?" Tony emphasized his point by squeezing Jethro's arms even tighter and shaking him a little. "The only thing he does is ruin things! I've spent my entire life watching him cause disaster after disaster and then just walk away. I know how tough you are and I sure know how smart you are, but he always retaliates and he never gets caught! Talk to Fornell! The FBI has been trying to nail him for as long as I can remember and he always slithers away!"

Jethro could feel Tony trembling, but his look was no less intense. His voice took on a quiet, urgent tone as he continued. "I've learned the hard way that there is no better way to deal with him than to just keep yourself as far away from him or his schemes as possible." Jethro could now actually see Tony shaking, he wasn't sure if it was from anger or fear, maybe a little of both. Jethro pulled Tony to him as Tony nearly sobbed out, "Promise me, Jethro, promise me you'll stay away! I-I can't lose you, I just can't…" Tony's voice cracked as Jethro held him close and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

Jethro rubbed circles in Tony back with his left hand while his right carded through Tony's hair while whispering in his ear, over and over, "I promise, Tony, I promise. I love you, I'm so sorry, I promise."

Jethro felt about two inches tall. He remembered how much Senior had hurt Tony, both as a child and as an adult. He also remembered having a similar conversation when they had been together about a year. Senior had breezed into town and wrecked havoc in their lives. He had only met him briefly at the Navy Yard, but that meeting had left him cold.

Senior had no regard for Tony's feelings and took great pleasure in pointing out how lacking he perceived Tony to be. He didn't care about all the great things Tony had done or what an exceptional person he was, he only saw the 'bottom line' or what Tony could do for him. Tony was a public servant, a peon in his eyes, and he treated him as such. At that point, McGee had been new to the team and had initially been delighted that Senior threw Tony off his game so much. That opinion changed when he witnessed how the old bastard treated Tony in front of others. He remembered Kate and Abby had also been charmed at first, but they were both smart women and saw through his charming mask quickly.

Ducky had never been taken in by him and he remembered with a smile the reception he got from Tom Morrow. Tom was also not fooled by the false charm and looked at Senior like something he had just scraped off his shoe. The reason for the visit was that Senior was broke again and was trying to hit Tony up for some cash. He remembered Tony being afraid that Senior had found out about his trust fund, but there was never any indication he knew. He thought he could cajole and bully Tony into doing what he wanted, but with the support of his team and Jethro, he did not give in. He sent Senior packing, only offering to buy him a bus ticket home. When Senior realized his bullshit was not being bought, he hightailed it out of town, mooching a ride from a business acquaintance he ran into.

Senior had only been in town a little under twenty-four hours, but the effect he had on Tony was felt for weeks. He withdrew into himself and got very quiet. He became apathetic with Jethro and started not coming over. They had dinner the night Senior left and Tony had not said two words. He did stay that night, but they did not make love and Jethro knew he didn't sleep well.

Jethro was incensed with Senior and the way he treated Tony and was making plans to illustrate to him the error of his ways. About a week after Senior left, Tony seemed to snap out of his funk and realized what Jethro was planning. They had a very similar scene to the one that just played out, and he now remembered his promise to Tony then that he would stay away. Tony was still rattled, but he started coming back over to the house after that and Jethro took great pains to show him just how much he meant to Jethro and how loved he was.

It was almost three full weeks after the son of a bitch left before _his_ Tony started to emerge again. Jethro knew Tony had talked with Kate, Abby, Ducky and McGee about what had happened and thanked them for their support, and he had promised Tony more than once that he would keep his distance and not plan any retribution, however much he wanted to.

Jethro had been swept up in plans for revenge then, as he had been now, and Tony was just as adamant then to drop it. He was terrified Jethro would do something against Senior that would land him in jail and take him away from Tony. As much as he had accomplished in his life, and as smart as Tony was, he was still cowed by Senior and Jethro knew a small part of Tony believed in Senior's opinion of him and always wondered what he could do to gain approval that would never come.

To allay Tony's fears, he had agreed then not to go after Senior, but he had silently promised himself that if Senior stepped one toe out of line, he would make sure he paid. The wily old bastard never had though, he was just as slippery as Tony said he was, he did, after all, know him best.

Jethro and Tony's relationship had changed quite a bit since then, with Tony becoming more confident and self assured of his equality in their union, but Jethro could now see that broken little boy still lived inside Tony and he would do everything in his power to keep him safe. If that meant leaving Senior alone to his own devices, then that's what he would do - Tony came first.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Jethro continued to hold Tony close, caressing his back and hair as he murmured endearments to him until he felt Tony calming down. The trembling stopped, and although still shaken, he was once again in control of his emotions. Tony pulled back from Jethro, but still staying in the circle of Jethro's arms, asked him, "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

"What? Besides running off to Mexico and nearly destroying the best thing in my life? No, I think I'm done with stupid for awhile." Jethro replied with a cocky grin. Tony huffed out a laugh and smacked Jethro's ass before replying, "Yeah, you pretty much used up your '_stupid quotient'_ for a few years."

Tony yelped as Jethro grabbed his ass with both hands and pulled him tight to his body, grinding their groins together, "Is that so?" He asked Tony with a fond smile.

Tony moaned low and circled his hips, grinding their once-again hardening cocks together and causing Jethro to take a sharp indrawn breath. Tony had both of his palms flat on Jethro's chest and leaned in to kiss him sweetly before replying quietly, "Yeah. I think I really need you right now Jethro, is there a room we could use?"

Jethro moved one hand up to cup Tony's face while he kissed him again, this time with a little more urgency. While he was always ready to fuck Tony, he had a deep desire right now to make love to Tony. There was a difference. He pulled back after the kiss and took one of Tony's hands in his and pulled him up the sweeping staircase.

He knew all the bedrooms were ready for use, but he wanted their first time here to be special, so he pulled Tony down the long hallway upstairs until they were standing in front of a set of double doors made of the same rich, cherry wood as the front door. These doors also had a scene carved into them and it stretched across both doors. This one seemed to be an aerial look at the farm itself. A very detailed carving of the farmhouse they were standing in took up most of the lower right portion of the right door. Tony could even see a miniature version of the elaborate front door below etched with the running horses and Sweet Williams visible on it.

The scene on the left door had the huge barn behind the house centered on it, doors thrown open and a horse and carriage emerging from inside it. The detail was so elaborate that Tony swore he heard the horses hooves clumping and the wagon crunching over the gravel. The upper portion of the right door was what he supposed the horse stable beyond the trees looked like. That building was smaller, seeming to be looking at it from a distance. Tony could see the stable and what looked like a small house attached to the side of it. The training circle was there and it showed a boy standing in the center holding the reins of a horse that was trotting around the circle. The rest of both the doors were covered with trees, representing the surrounding woods and Tony could see trails snaking through the trees and even smaller horses and riders traveling them. Tony reached out with wonder and traced the carvings, fascinated by the intricate details. He could even see lace curtains hanging in the window of the stable boys house!

Jethro stood next to him and smiled fondly at the look of astonishment on Tony's face. "These used to just be plain wooden doors. Zach got into carving when William was small and frequently sick. It was something he could do quietly while he stayed close to take care of William. One of the rooms down the hall was converted into a little workshop for him so he wasn't too far away. The little boy in the training circle is William at about age ten and the man driving the horse carriage out of the barn is Zach himself."

Tony looked closer at the two figures and saw the boy did seem to be a smaller, younger version of his father in the carriage. A sweet, wistful smile graced his features as he thought of the deep bond those two shared. He had no doubt William was a beloved child and Zach, who sounded more and more like Jethro with every new revelation he learned, a very proud father. Jethro, sensing Tony's melancholy, kissed Tony's cheek and then opened the doors and wrapped his arm around Tony to draw him into the master suite.

Jethro closed the doors behind them and turned to gauge Tony's reaction to the room. The floor was covered in plush emerald green carpeting and the walls were painted a lush moss green. The room was filled with large, obviously hand carved furniture in the same rich, cherry wood as the doors. There were two doors on each wall to the right and left. Tony supposed one was a closet and the other the bathroom, but he couldn't figure out the other two doors yet, maybe storage. There were two large windows on either side of the massive bed that held center stage in the room.

The bed looked bigger than a California king to Tony, but he wasn't sure. It had four rounded bedposts and Tony estimated the headboard at about five feet tall with the footboard just a little smaller at around four feet tall. The wood was thick, Tony thought it looked to be around 5 or six inches, very sturdy. The headboard had a large sunrise design carved into it, while the footboard sported a moon and stars celestial design carved out. The bedding was a deep emerald green with at least ten pillows piled on top of it. Two bedside tables, that also had the celestial design carved into them were on either side of the bed and they supported two Tiffany lamps. The shades appeared to be a mosaic of orange yellow and red leaves on a base that looked like a tree, roots and all. There were two identical Tiffany floor lamps placed next to the ends of the massive dresser that took up the wall on the left, between two of the doors.

On the right wall, between the other two doors stood an expansive stone fireplace with a cherry wood mantle. Two Tiffany wall sconces were above the fireplace, also with the leaf design shades. The fireplace screen was also no doubt Tiffany. The three-paneled screen showed a scene on a tranquil, wooded lake at sunset in autumn. The colors of the trees were vivid reds, yellows and oranges with the sunset taking on deep blues and purples. The screen complimented the other Tiffany pieces scattered throughout the room.

Each window had a deep cushioned window seat and sheer white curtains. Heavy drapes in a deep emerald that matched the rug were pulled back on either side of the windows to allow natural light in. There were overstuffed moss green chairs, in the corners beyond each window and each having an ornate side table with smaller versions of the Tiffany table lamps on them, same leaf shades. Low built-in shelves, filled with books were next to each chair. Tony was aware of two large armoires on either side of the door behind him and another long case grandfather clock was ticking away on the other side of one of the doors, with a lighted curio cabinet on the wall opposite the clock next to the corresponding door.

As impressive as the huge bed was, the ceiling was really something to behold. The moss green of the wall seemed to melt upwards and onto the ceiling and then change hue to a light sky blue, which in turn continued to darken through shades of blue and purple until the center was a black velvety expanse littered with thousands of stars. The stars were also sprinkled outward from the heavy concentration in the center, through the lightening shades of color until only a few were dotted around the ceiling, just before the sky blue shade took over. Tony had never seen anything like it.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

Tony stood where Jethro had stopped him with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open, taking in everything. Jethro chuckled and wrapped his arms around Tony, nuzzling his face in Tony's neck and trailing kisses as he whispered, "You can explore later, right now I need you."

Tony's face took on a dreamy look and he closed his eyes while he savored the feel of Jethro's arms around him and his mouth tasting him. Tony's arousal spiked again and he willingly allowed Jethro to lead him over to the bed. Jethro stopped them next to the bed and took Tony into his arms again, kissing him deeply. Both men pulled apart when oxygen became a necessity and rested their foreheads against one another as they caught their breath.

"I need to make love to you." Jethro panted out. "I want you to know how much I need you."

Tony closed his eyes as a beatific smile spread over his face. "I know how much you need me, Jethro, but do you know how much I can't do without you?" Tony whispered.

"Oh, I know. If it's half as much as I can't be without you, we'll never get enough of each other." Jethro responded as he held Tony's face in his two hands tenderly.

Tony's smile got even bigger as he replied, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Jethro leaned in for another sweet kiss and then the time for talking was over. Jethro quickly removed Tony's clothes as Tony worked on Jethro's buttons and zippers. Both men kicked off their shoes and parted briefly to completely divest themselves of all clothing. They took a few seconds to appreciate the other's naked bodies before coming back together for another deep kiss while pressing together as close as they could.

Jethro reached over and pulled the bedspread down with one hand as he continued to map out the inside of Tony's mouth with his tongue. Tony was fully hard and pressed against Jethro's stomach. Jethro was so hard he could probably cut diamonds and he was happy he had thought ahead and retrieved the tube of lube from his jeans before tossing them on the floor. He didn't think he could stand to be away from Tony's body for the time it would have taken to get it otherwise. He had finally gotten the bedspread and top sheets down and turned them both so Tony's back was to the bed.

He pushed Tony down to a sitting position on the bed with his feet still on the floor and pulled his legs apart, stepping in between them and again crushing their erections together, making both men moan at the contact. Tony was running his left hand up and down Jethro's right arm and his right hand was running through Jethro's chest hair. Jethro used both of his hands to bring Tony's legs up to wrap around his waist. Tony closed his eyes and sank backwards on the bed, reveling in the feel of the soft bedding on his hyper-sensitive skin.

Jethro leaned forward, following him and kissing his way up Tony's chest to suckle at the juncture of Tony's neck and shoulder, causing the man below him to squirm. Tony's hands came up, one cupping the back of Jethro's head, the other smoothing up and down Jethro's side. Jethro's mouth kissed its way up to his ear where he whispered, "Scoot up." Tony immediately complied, moving back towards the center of the large bed, Jethro climbing up onto the bed and following him.

Tony was lain out in the middle of the bed with his legs bent at the knee and spread wide. His erection was rock-hard and curved back, leaking pre-come on his own stomach. Tony wrapped his right hand around his cock and lazily ran it up and down. He ran the fingers of his other hand through the come already on his stomach and brought them up to Jethro, who sucked the fingers into his mouth, cleaning every bit of Tony's come off of them as Tony's eyes darkened with desire.

Jethro grabbed the lube that he had tossed on the bed and quickly coated three fingers before moving his hand down to tease and finally breach Tony's entrance. Tony was still somewhat loose after their vigorous activities yesterday, so it didn't take long to stretch him out. As he removed his fingers to prepare himself for entry, Tony grabbed his wrist to stop him.

Jethro's head snapped up to find Tony sitting back up with a smoldering look in his eyes. Tony explained in a sultry voice, "Allow me." Jethro handed the lube to Tony who opened the tube and dribbled it onto Jethro's hard cock. He then closed the container and used his hand to liberally spread the lube over Jethro's cock while the other man moaned at the contact. Tony leaned further up and kissed Jethro deeply while continuing to move his hand up and down Jethro's cock, making him impossibly harder.

Sensing the older man would not be able to take much more, Tony broke the kiss and leaned back on the bed again, pulling Jethro to him by not letting go of his cock. Jethro moved forward between Tony's spread legs and allowed the younger man to position his cock at Tony's entrance and then push it inside as if he were some living, breathing sex toy that Tony was pleasuring himself with. If Tony wanted him to be his sex toy, he could live with that, gladly.

After feeding Jethro's cock inside himself, Tony reclined back on the bed with a deep sigh. He pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Jethro's waist again and pushed his hips down to impale himself further onto Jethro. Jethro leaned forward so that he was laying on top of Tony, with Tony's cock trapped between them and continuing to leak come on their stomachs. Jethro wrapped his arms around Tony's torso and pulled him as tightly against himself as their position allowed.

Jethro nuzzled and kissed Tony's neck and shoulder as he moved his hips in slow, deep thrusts and occasionally in circles, pulling gasps and moans from the gorgeous man squirming beneath him. Tony's arms were around him and he felt Tony's fingers playing with his hair and caressing his back and his ass as he continued to make love to him.

Neither man were aware or even cared about the passing of time. They were both lost in each other's bodies and the deep love they felt. They traded kisses as they each thrust against the other, prolonging their passion as long as possible. Sooner than either man wanted, biology caught up to them and the need for release became to great to ignore. Jethro's thrusts became faster and harder and Tony bore down on every down thrust to get as much friction as possible on his own cock and to get Jethro as far inside him as he could.

Both men came simultaneously, always perfectly in tune in everything they did. The waves of their orgasm crashed over them again and again as they worked to empty themselves of their all-consuming passion, knowing they would never actually be sated and quite happy with that knowledge.

At some point, Jethro must have pulled them over so that they were lying on their sides, still connected as they fought to catch their breath. Jethro was brushing the hair back from Tony's sweaty brow as he said, "I love you so much, Tony."

Tony's face broke into a smile as he replied, eyes still closed, "I should hope so! If that was your casual sex, I don't think I'd survive the deep stuff!"

Jethro smiled back as he retorted, "That was as deep as it gets DiNozzo, I hope I didn't disappoint!"

Tony's eyes opened and a lump formed in Jethro's throat upon seeing the depth of love and trust Tony projected. "That's not possible." He replied in a soft voice. "You may have really pissed me off a time or two, but you've never disappointed me." Jethro felt wet tears running down his face and he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure he deserved the faith Tony had in him.

"You deserve it." Tony told him with a fond smile as he used his thumbs to brush away Jethro's tears. Jethro chuckled, again marveling at the level of unspoken communication they had with each other. He wasn't sure he was even this attuned to Shannon.

Tony leaned forward and kissed him affectionately. He whispered, "I love you too Jethro, always." as he continued to kiss him. When they were finished, Jethro reached behind Tony and pulled the bedspread and sheets over their cooling bodies and they snuggled together, still intimately connected as they drifted off in each other's embrace.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC…

A/N: The horses mentioned above are real and did win the races described. I found a list of winning horses and picked the names that appealed to me. They are in no way affiliated with my fictional horse farm because, well it's fictional. :-) There was actually a shuttle launch on December 2, 1988, STS-27, the Atlantis. I also mentioned the family truckster, that reference is from a favorite movie of mine, "National Lampoon's Vacation" from 1983, Warner Brothers Pictures.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: Thank you to all Guest reviewers, your kind words are appreciated, also - I have played with birth dates a little and have shaved about 10 years off Gibbs, making him only 8 years older than Tony. I have also changed the introduction of Senior to better fit my story. You will be seeing him in the future, but not yet. Back to the show - Enjoy! ;-)**

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Tony was lying on his back gazing up at the stars that crowded the ceiling above the bed. He had never expected to see something like this in a farm house in Stillwater Pennsylvania. Custom paint jobs like this were more common in places like New York or DC. He liked it, and the room very much. Despite its large size, it had a cozy feel to it.

He looked around the room and started to imagine some of his things in it and then several questions occurred to him at once, causing his brow to furrow as his mind worked through them.

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Jethro became aware of his surroundings again as he felt Tony moving his head, probably checking out the room. His internal clock told him only about an hour had passed, so there was no pressing need to get up just yet. He left his eyes closed and drifted for a little while, just feeling his body pressed up against Tony. His awareness snapped back into focus when he felt Tony's body become rigid and his breathing change.

Jethro's eyes opened immediately and he quickly scanned the room for any threat Tony may have perceived. Seeing nothing, his gaze landed back on Tony, who seemed to be unaware that Jethro was now awake and studying him to try and determine what was going on. Tony's jaw was clamped tightly shut and he was breathing deeply through his nose. His brow was furrowed and his eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling.

Jethro knew this look. Tony was very deep in thought and trying to work through something. He wondered if Tony was still pissed at him for again plotting to take down Senior. He knew Tony wasn't worried about Senior, he was worried that Jethro would do something to the old bastard that would land him in jail and take him away from Tony. Plus, jail was not a fun place for a Fed, it would be very dangerous for Jethro to be incarcerated.

Jethro made a silent promise to himself and Tony that he would never put them in that position. Senior was not worth it and he would not hurt Tony by causing him stress wondering if he was going off the reservation to exact revenge. He was also going to verbalize this promise, so Tony knew he was serious.

He started rubbing his hand over Tony's stomach to gently pull him back out of whatever he was thinking about. It took a few minutes, but Jethro kept up the motion and finally saw Tony blink a few times and turn his face in his direction. A tired smile played across Tony's beautiful features and Jethro again saw the tiny lines of stress around his eyes that had been absent the past few days. Jethro gave himself a mental head slap for causing Tony anxiety.

"Hey, I didn't know you were awake." Tony told him while caressing the hand Jethro had resting on Tony's stomach.

"Yeah, the smoke woke me up." Jethro responded with a teasing smile.

Tony's brow furrowed in puzzlement again as he asked, "Smoke?"

"Yep, from all the heavy thinking you were doing." Jethro told him, watching his reaction carefully.

Tony visibly relaxed his body and huffed out a breath before replying, "Yeah, I was going over a lot of things. Sorry, I didn't realize I tensed up so much." he finished while again turning his gaze up to the ceiling. "I was really surprised to see something like this here." Tony indicated the ceiling with a nod of his head. "That's crazy! I like it though. Was Zach into astronomy?" He asked. Jethro recognized it for what it was, a deflection technique. An art form Tony was a master at.

Jethro played along. He had some things to say to Tony, but he had a feeling Senior was only a part of what Tony was thinking about and he knew pushing would not get him anywhere. Tony would tell him when he was ready to. "That was for Mary. She was a pretty good amateur astronomer. Zach carved the furniture for her too. They were some of his earliest pieces." Jethro informed him.

Tony was even more surprised. "So, this ceiling has been like this for over eighty years?" He asked, while going over the tableau with a more critical eye. He could not see any signs of age, it had been well taken care of.

"Closer to ninety years. It gets a touch up every ten years from the design company that originally painted it, it was part of Zach's will, there's a fund set aside to maintain it. They're out of Philly and have been in business for over two hundred years. They just re-did it this last May, right before my last case." Jethro informed him before he closed his eyes and nuzzled his face into Tony's neck. He felt Tony relax even further as he snuggled closer to Jethro.

"Umm." Was Tony's only response. They lay quietly together for a few more minutes before Tony finally asked, "Jethro, why did you never tell me about this place or the one in Philadelphia?"

Jethro knew this was one of the things Tony had been thinking over and he took a little time to think about it himself before replying. "I really never thought about it before Tony. This is only the third time I've been here since Zach died. My dad always takes care of it and lets me know what's going on. I've only been to the Philly horse ranch once since it came into my possession. The caretaker and his son detour into DC to keep me updated at least once a year, I usually meet them for dinner or lunch."

Jethro fell silent again as he contemplated how to relay what he wanted to say to Tony next. He knew Tony was watching him intently and gauging his demeanor. He knew Tony was an expert in body language and was uniquely sensitive to what he perceived as disapproval of his own actions or just who he was as a person. Something else he had to thank Senior for.

"Tony, when we first got together, I never thought about this place or the one up in Philly. There were too many memories of my girls in those places and I pushed them aside and just didn't think about it, because I couldn't handle it yet." Jethro paused to gather his thoughts again while Tony nodded at him to continue. "The more we got to know each other, and the closer we got, that grief and anger started to lift."

Jethro took another deep breath and Tony caressed his hand and arm in silent support. "When you made it easier for me to talk about my girls, I started to re-think everything." Jethro smoothed his palm over Tony's abs and snuggled closer to him. "I had intended to bring you up here last Memorial day and tell you all about it and then maybe go up to the Philly property sometime over the summer. Well, you know what happened with that."

Tony sighed sadly and ran his other hand over Jethro's shoulder to comfort him and let him know he understood while Jethro continued. "I thought at first that there was no way you would be interested in this place out in the middle of nowhere, but then you hit it off with my dad and you really seemed to enjoy coming to visit him. It was really just a spur of the moment thing yesterday, I really needed you and it was close by. I was going to tell you during our little trip, but fate stepped in first."

Tony quirked a smile and teased, "Leroy Jethro Gibbs looking for a hideaway to get his freak on!"

Jethro moved his hand up from Tony's stomach quickly and pinched Tony's left nipple causing the younger man to jump while at the same time breaking out in giggles. This resulted in Jethro sitting up and tickling Tony mercilessly as Tony rolled around on the bed giggling and begging Jethro to stop.

"Jeh-Jeth! S-Stop!" Tony begged as his laughter filled the room. Jethro stopped the tickling, but he kept his arms around Tony holding him close as his laughter died down and his breathing returned to normal. Jethro's heart soared watching the pure joy radiating from Tony. He was so glad they were able to repair their relationship and make it even stronger. He had to tell Tony again that he didn't have to worry about him going after Senior, but right now he just wanted to kiss him, so he did.

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Tony lay comfortably in Jethro's arms as he calmed down from Jethro's tickle attack. This wasn't the first time Jethro had done that since they had been together, but it had been awhile and he had missed it. His breathing was slowly returning to normal when he noticed the fond smile on Jethro's face morph into something else. He only had a few seconds to register the intensity before Jethro leaned down and captured his lips in a deep kiss.

Tony quickly melted into the kiss as his arms came up around Jethro, pulling him close. He didn't know how long they kissed, but he knew it wasn't as long as it could have been because he had not completely caught his breath before Jethro had dived in. Tony sighed deeply as Jethro nibbled along his jaw line. Jethro kissed along his cheek before reaching his ear and whispering into it, "Tony, open your eyes and look at me."

Tony's eyes came open to find Jethro watching him intensely. This wasn't a passionate look though, Jethro had something else on his mind now. Tony settled back to find out what Jethro wanted, he didn't have long to wait.

"Tony, I promise you I won't do anything to Senior." Tony's eyebrows went up in surprise, he didn't think Jethro had picked up on that part, he had tried to hide that. "I will never do anything to jeopardize our life together. I know he is not worth it and I don't want you to worry about me going after him."

Tony studied Jethro's face and locked his green eyes with Jethro's intense blue gaze. He saw the truth of Jethro's words in those eyes and finally relaxed an anxiety he didn't realize was wound so tight. He had always thought Jethro would eventually make a run at Senior and he tried to be prepared to head his father off when he came back at Jethro, but he finally believed Jethro would let it go, for them. He felt a big smile splitting his own face and was very happy to see an answering smile on Jethro's.

Both men were relieved they had swept away a source of trouble and stress that had unknowingly plagued them since Senior blew into their lives two years ago. The old bastard would no longer come between them, he knew Jethro had his six.

Tony reached up and pulled Jethro down for a deep kiss that sparked their passion. Tony grabbed Jethro and reversed their positions, putting him on top and Jethro flat on his back below him. After a quick glance at the grandfather clock to see they still had plenty of time before the delivery was due, Tony went to work.

Tony retrieved the tube of lube that Jethro had tossed near their heads earlier and quickly worked Jethro open. Tony lubed up his own erection and guided it into Jethro with one hand while the other hand gripped Jethro's hip. Both men moaned loudly as Tony slid all the way in. He gave Jethro a few seconds to adjust to his girth before he started a punishing pace, thrusting deeply inside Jethro.

Tony wrapped the hand that already had lube on it around Jethro's cock as he started to bring them both to completion. Jethro was moaning and thrusting into Tony's hand and then pushing down to impale himself on Tony's cock. Tony was awash in sensation as he felt Jethro's inner muscles clench and un-clench around him while watching Jethro's erection twitch in his hand. The feel of the velvety steel shaft pulsing was pushing him closer and one swipe of his thumb over the head, smearing the come leaking from the tip, sent Jethro over the edge and he followed close behind.

Tony milked Jethro's cock with his hand and watched mesmerized, as streams of come painted themselves all over Jethro's stomach and chest. Jethro was moaning through his ecstasy and taking Tony's breath away as his body milked Tony of his orgasm. Tony's breathing settled down and he ran his fingers through the puddles of come on Jethro's chest, gathering some on them before smearing it on Jethro's lips.

Jethro moaned and his tongue came out to lick his own come off his lips before sucking Tony's fingers into his mouth and cleaning them thoroughly. His eyes were locked on Tony as he did this and he moaned again when Tony's cock twitched inside of him at his actions. Tony took a few deep breaths to calm himself, before gently extracting himself from Jethro's body, causing the other man to groan in protest.

Tony chuckled as he leaned forward and licked the last trace of come from Jethro's lips before kissing him deeply to make sure there was none left to be found inside his mouth. Jethro sighed when their lips parted and Tony chuckled again before leaning over and whispering into Jethro's ear, "You're mine, Marine!" and leaned back to see what effect those words would have.

A brilliant smile broke out on Jethro's face and he reached up to cup Tony's face before replying, "Yours Tony, always yours."

Tony had a matching brilliant smile as his hand closed around Jethro's wrist and brought the hand around so Tony could place a gentle kiss in the palm as he replied, "I know." He nuzzled his face into Jethro's palm before saying, "We should go get cleaned up. I want to look around a little before the delivery gets here."

Jethro nodded his head in agreement as Tony climbed out of the bed and reached his hand down to assist Jethro in getting up. When both men were standing, they both looked back to see what damage there was to the sheets. Both men were surprised to see most of the pillows on the floor and the comforter halfway off of the bed and the sheets would definitely need to be replaced.

"Wow! My Marine sure knows how to tear up the sheets!" Tony commented.

Jethro snorted out a laugh and swatted Tony's ass playfully before grabbing his hand and leading him over to one of the doors on the right side of the room. Jethro was actually quite pleased with the state of the bed, it spoke to the intense passion they had for one another that they didn't even realize the mess they were making.

As much as the state of their bed pleased him, Jethro could not wait to see Tony's reaction to their bathroom. He pulled the younger man over and placed him in front of the door. He sent a mischievous smile at Tony before opening the door with a flourish and stepping back to watch Tony.

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Gibbs wasn't disappointed, Tony's reaction was just as good as when he saw the master bedroom when they came in. Tony stood rooted to the spot as he took in everything. The room was huge, about half the size of the attached bedroom and all done in blue Italian marble.

The commode was off to their right in an alcove by itself. Directly in front of them was one of the 2 large pedestal sinks in the room. The other one was on the other side of the large window centered on the back wall. In front of that window stood a large, upright stove that was original to the house and still worked. The far side of the bathroom had a walk-in shower, with over a dozen shower heads, that stretched along the entire side of the room. Next to them, behind the wall that held the fireplace in the bedroom was a deep tub, that looked like it could hold a half dozen people, on a raised dais. The blue marble had white throughout it that looked like wispy clouds. The ceiling was white with ornate, hand-carved moulding that went around the whole room.

Jethro quirked a smile as he took in Tony's dazed countenance. He clearly, also didn't expect to see something like this in Stillwater. He moved closer and leaned in to kiss Tony's cheek while encircling his waist with his left arm and caressing Tony's ass.

Jethro whispered in his ear, "Close your mouth, you're catching flies,"

Tony's jaw closed with a snap as Jethro snickered and Tony turned his head to face the other man with a crooked smile on his face. "Whatever, smartass!" he exclaimed. "How many more surprises do you have for me in this house?" Tony asked with his head cocked to the side.

"A few more." Jethro replied mysteriously as he leaned in for a soft kiss. "Let's get cleaned up and I'll show you." Jethro finished while turning, lightly tapping Tony's ass with his hand that had been caressing it.

Jethro pulled away and retrieved big fluffy towels from the linen closet next to the commode alcove and pulled Tony over to the shower.

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After a thorough cleaning, and a bit of groping and kissing, the two men were finally clean and dry and finishing up getting dressed in the bedroom. Jethro was sitting in one of the chairs putting on his shoes again when Tony asked him, "Which of these other two doors is the closet?"

Jethro looked up and indicated the door closer to where Tony was standing with his head as he said, "Check it out, light switch is right inside the door."

Tony smiled and pulled the door open next to the clock and stepped inside while simultaneously flipping on the switch. Jethro leaned back in the chair and smiled when he heard Tony's muffled voice exclaiming, "Oh. My. GOD!"

Jethro's smile grew bigger as he tracked Tony by listening to his muffled voice as he moved through the adjoining room, hearing comments of, "This is…Is that?" and "Holy crap! That's electric too! All my suits would fit one rack in here!" until the other door, closest to where Jethro was sitting, flew open and Tony excitedly rushed out and pulled a laughing Jethro up from the chair and pulled him into the huge walk-in closet that was also a dressing room.

Tony pulled him over to the shoe rack on the back wall that was smoothly revolving like a tall, flat Ferris wheel, turning over the stock of shoes that were stored in it. Tony hit the button on the wall next to the rack and it slid quietly to a stop, again flush with the wall. Tony then pulled him along to the clothes rack to the left that was also slowly revolving. Tony hit another button and this too, quietly came to a stop. The clothes rack's twin, on the other side of the shoe rack, was not moving, Tony must have started and stopped that one before coming out to pull Jethro inside.

Jethro watched his lover with a fond smile on his face as Tony practically danced around the large room, opening drawers, running his hand over the suits hung in both revolving clothes racks and turning the revolving shoe rack on and off at least four times. The entire room was done in cedar wood, floor, walls, ceiling, everything. Every drawer, every drawer pull, even the doors and door handles were cedar. The room was one big moth repellant, and it did its job well. Zach Fielding had been gone over twenty years, but his suits were in pristine condition, as if he had just worn them yesterday.

Jethro smiled as he watched Tony excitedly showing him everything he already knew was there. He had known that this room, in particular, would thrill his love. Tony was nothing, if not finicky about his clothes. This room was the holy grail for a wardrobe aficionado like Tony and Jethro was glad such a small effort on his part could make Tony so happy. He smiled to himself when he thought of all the other closets, maybe not as big but just as spectacular, that Tony would be exploring in the rest of the house along with the other bedrooms and everything else the home had to offer.

Jethro was pulled out of his musings when Tony walked up to him and pulled him close in a tight hug, Tony's enthusiasm making his body thrum. Jethro could actually feel the waves of electricity coming from Tony and basked in the pleasure sparkling in Tony's eyes. He knew Tony's excitement would only increase as he unveiled each new wonder the house was currently hiding, and he thought now was a good time to start showing the younger man some of them.

"C'mon smiley, let's start the laundry and I'll show you around." Jethro said as he placed a kiss on Tony's cheek.

Tony's natural curiosity was running at full-tilt and he readily agreed. The two men quickly stripped the bed of the soiled linens and they grabbed the towels from the bathroom they had used, then Tony followed Jethro out into the hall and about half-way down. Jethro stopped by a pair of double doors that looked like a linen closet to Tony, so he was surprised again when Jethro pulled the doors open to reveal a laundry room with two washers and two dryers, a folding table and clothes racks with wheels and shelves that could ferry freshly laundered clothes back to the bedrooms.

"Man, this place is like a hotel!" Tony commented as Jethro started loading one of the washers.

"I'm sure you've heard it a few times since yesterday, Zach liked his comforts." Jethro replied as he finished loading both of the washers with the bed linens and towels they had brought.

"I'll say he did!" Tony replied with a wide smile as he leaned back on the folding table with his arms supporting him and his legs crossed at the ankle, presenting a relaxed, contented picture. "The man sure knew how to live." Tony added.

"I usually don't care for all the extras, but as extravagant as Zach could be, he was also practical." Jethro told him as he leaned next to him in almost the same posture. "He liked things neat and tidy and most of his luxuries were geared towards that aim. His closet was the largest, but all of the bedrooms have a similar set-up. All the closets are cedar and they all have smaller versions of the mechanical shoe and clothes storage in the main bedroom."

"No way!" Tony exclaimed, getting excited all over again. "I thought that was a master bedroom perk!"

"Nope. They all have similar systems, but the master bedroom is the biggest and the one we'll be using when we stay here." Jethro informed him.

Tony had stood up straight and now furrowed his brows as a thought crossed his mind. Jethro saw his change in demeanor and asked, "What's wrong, Tony?"

"It's just…" Tony ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture before continuing. "The closet is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but…" Tony hesitated before asking cautiously, "are there clothes in all of them?"

"Not that Zach didn't have great taste! I mean, I saw Armani's and Zegna's and Canali's in there and Gucci accessories and it's all great, but…" Tony hesitated before finishing in a rush, "but it's a little strange they're all still here! Didn't William want any of it?" he asked with a puzzled expression. "Are Mary's clothes preserved in another closet? What about William? Is there a closet with his kid clothes in it?"

Jethro just blinked as he processed Tony's words. He had never really thought about it. Tony, mistaking his silence for disapproval, started to backpedal.

"It's really no big deal! I just would have thought they would be parceled out amongst the family or donated. Although, I'm not sure which charity would know what to do with clothes like that." Tony mused. "I wonder if there is a high-end Goodwill that millionaires frequent."

Jethro pulled himself out of his thoughts as Tony started to ramble about a millionaire Goodwill and he stepped over and placed his hands on Tony's arms, stilling Tony immediately. "All the other closets are empty." He informed him and felt Tony slump with relief at that news. "Zach left the clothes to me, we wore the same size. William was too small and had everything he needed and since I have no use for them, I just left them here."

Tony eyed him with one eyebrow raised as visions of Jethro dressed to the nines in a black Armani and blue silk tie ran through his mind. Jethro, always knowing where his mind went, huffed out a breath and quirked a smile as he reached up and lightly tapped the back of Tony's head.

"Be good and maybe I'll try on some of those suits for you." He told Tony with a crooked smile.

Tony's expression turned lascivious as he replied, waggling his eyebrows, "I was actually thinking about taking the suits off of you!"

Jethro barked out a laugh and pulled Tony close for a quick kiss before taking his hand and leading him back into the hall. They walked back towards the stairs, but Jethro stopped at another closed door at the top of the landing. Tony noticed a small brass panel next to the door with a lighted button on it, just like a doorbell, but he couldn't figure out what it was doing up here. Jethro opened the door and ushered Tony inside.

Tony thought they were in another well-appointed closet, complete with a small table and green, plush upholstered Queen Ann chair, before he turned around and saw the panel next to the door Jethro closed behind them. He then realized they were standing in an elevator! Jethro pushed a button and Tony felt the car descend to the first floor. Jethro didn't say a word as the vehicle moved silently downward, he just looked at Tony with a smug smile. He opened the door again when it dinged that they had arrived and placed a hand on the small of Tony's back to escort him out of the elevator.

Tony found himself standing in the foyer by the front door, next to the grandfather clock. Tony had a bemused smile on his face as he shook his head and chuckled at Jethro's theatrics.

"I should have known." Tony said. "Nothing but the best for Zach."

Jethro shrugged as he replied, "It was actually installed for Mary. She was pregnant when they were building and he didn't want her on the stairs."

"So, this elevator is a hundred years old?" Tony asked, looking perturbed. "You should have told me, I would have taken the stairs!"

Jethro laughed and pulled his pouting lover into his arms and kissed his neck. "Don't worry. All the mechanics were completely replaced in the seventies and it's serviced every six months. They've never had a problem with it. It's an original Otis elevator and one of the first ever installed in a private residence, it's very reliable and safe." Jethro reassured his fiancé.

Tony huffed out a breath and pulled back with a puzzled expression, "How did you know it was on the second floor? I don't remember seeing you hit that button when we went upstairs."

"Jackson was here a few weeks ago and he always forgets to call it down when he walks back downstairs." Jethro replied smugly.

Tony shook his head at the simplicity of the logic, he should have thought of it himself.

Jethro pulled back and grabbed Tony's hand leading him through the rest of the house for a tour. Tony was impressed with the large rooms, tastefully decorated and awash with antiques. He was particularly interested in the mahogany paneled library that had also served as Zach's office. Several high-backed leather reading chairs and a very comfortable looking soft leather couch were placed around the room. An impressive Brazilian cherry desk stood in front of the large window and a deep, stone fireplace completed the cozy atmosphere of the room. Tony looked around with a satisfied nod. Family portraits and pleasant painted landscapes were scattered around the room and all the books appeared to have been read.

So unlike the impersonal, cold study his father used to terrorize him in when he was a child. He knew the books on those shelves had never been cracked open and he had paid dearly for presuming to think he was welcome to read the pristine volumes his father had kept around to impress visitors. He winced at the memory, that had been painful, in many ways.

He banished thoughts of his less-than-ideal childhood when Jethro's arms came around his waist, pulling him tightly back against Jethro's chest. "He can't hurt you anymore." Jethro whispered into his ear and Tony chuckled at Jethro correctly sussing out where his mind had wandered.

He snuggled into Jethro's embrace, feeling very loved and very wanted. He sighed contentedly and replied, "I know." Jethro squeezed him once more and kissed Tony's temple before releasing him and pulling him from the room and towards the back of the house.

"Last big reveal on this floor." Jethro explained as he led Tony though a swinging door.

They emerged into an expansive, well-appointed bright kitchen that, despite it's size, was also someplace Tony would describe as cozy. The walls were painted in a pale lemon yellow that bounced the light streaming in from the wall of windows on the rear of the house around, warming up the room. The appliances were state of the art, but looked original to the house. Tony had seen retro looking appliances like these before on some of the home renovation shows he was secretly addicted to. Those shows spoke to his natural curiosity, he loved to know how something worked, and they usually showed the process from start to finish.

He walked over to the refrigerator, that had the appearance of an old-fashioned icebox sitting about a foot off the floor on four sturdy, yet ornate legs and pulled the doors open. His observations were proved correct when light spilled out of the very modern looking fridge to reveal an interior right out of a cooking show. The freezer even had a double icemaker, probably for parties. He closed the doors and then ran his hand over the six-burner gas stove. The only thing missing was a microwave and dishwasher.

Jethro stood back and watched Tony, he loved seeing the wheels turn in that gorgeous head. Tony turned in a circle twice, looking at all the cabinets before striding over and pulling two open: One over the stove and the other next to the sink. The one over the stove revealed a microwave and the one next to the sink, a dishwasher. Tony turned around with a big smile on his face and Jethro clapped while Tony took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you, it's a gift." Tony said as he was taking his bow.

Jethro shook his head and smiled back fondly, replying, "I knew you would figure it out, not much gets past you."

Tony smiled cheekily and turned back around to close the cabinets and take in the rest of the room. A breakfast alcove was over to the left with a sunny yellow and gold Tiffany hanging lamp over the table. Tony smiled to himself, imagining the many happy gatherings that must have taken place here. For all their troubled history, he had a feeling that the Fieldings, and later the Fielding/Gibbs' were a very happy family, and he was now included in that group, which made him extremely happy.

Tony looked around and located the perfect spot for the television on the counter just next to the alcove. It would be seen to anyone sitting at the table and by him as he prepared food on the island counter. Satisfied with his placement choice, he turned back to find Jethro leaning against the counter, just inside the door with his legs crossed at the ankle and his arms crossed over his chest, contemplating him with a fond look on his face.

Jethro's look sent all kinds of warmth flooding to every part of his body, so he sauntered over and wrapped his body around Jethro's. He ran his hands up and down Jethro's back and nuzzled his neck before nibbling his way to that sensuous mouth and kissing his way inside of it. Jethro's hands gripped Tony's hips as he moaned into the kiss. Tony ground his groin against Jethro's, earning another deep moan. Tony smiled into the kiss and sucked Jethro's bottom lip into his mouth before pulling away and whispering, "Can't now, delivery guy will be here any minute."

Jethro groaned again, but reluctantly released his hold on Tony saying, "Okay, but we're staying here tonight. I plan on being _very_ noisy and I don't want a repeat of yesterday with my dad!"

Tony laughed and said, "Deal, but we have to go get some groceries after the delivery guy leaves, there's not even a stray piece of celery here. Do you know any good grocers around here?" Tony asked while tilting his head sideways with a questioning look on his face.

Jethro reached back and smacked Tony's ass and said, "Yeah, and so do you." as the front doorbell rang.

Tony laughed and danced away from him as he raced out of the room to answer the door. Jethro shook his head, smiling, as he followed at a more leisurely pace.

Jethro entered the foyer as the driver was leaning a large box, obviously the largest TV, against the wall. His back was to Jethro and he didn't see him enter as he asked Tony, in a flirtatious voice, "You _sure_ you don't need any help _unpacking_ this? I've been told I'm really good with my hands."

Tony smiled when he saw Jethro quirk an eyebrow, waiting for Tony's response. The delivery driver took that as an invitation and took a step closer to Tony and then stopped abruptly when he heard a low growling sound coming from behind him. He turned slowly and blanched at the look he was getting from the man he had failed to see upon entering.

Jethro asked Tony, without taking his eyes off the delivery driver, "Got all the packages?"

"Yup." Tony replied.

"Everything signed?" Jethro asked while holding out his hand to take the clipboard Tony had.

"Yup." Tony replied as he handed Jethro the clipboard, trying very hard not to laugh at the terror rolling off "Chad". He could understand it though, Jethro looked like he was going to beat "Chad" to death with it.

"Good." Jethro said, still pinning "Chad" to the floor with his glare. Jethro smoothly moved over to his left and flung the clipboard out the door like a Frisbee, landing it near the back of the delivery truck. Jethro pointed out the door and "Chad" finally snapped out of it and sprinted out the door, the two-wheeler he used to move the packages clanging down the steps behind him as he made his escape.

He threw the two-wheeler into the back of the delivery truck, scooped up the clipboard and hopped into the truck, taking off before the door on the vehicle was actually closed, gravel flying as he made his getaway.

Jethro said quietly, "Have a nice day." as he gently closed the front door.

That was it, Tony lost it, laughing so hard he had to sit on one of the couches by the front door to catch his breath. Jethro smiled at the display and sat next to Tony on the couch.

Tony was still chuckling as he lay his head on Jethro's shoulder and said, "My hero! I'm afraid you're a little late to defend my virtue though."

Jethro huffed out a laugh as he responded with, "That's okay, as long as your 'virtue' belongs to me!"

"Oh, it does." Tony quietly responded as he affectionately kissed Jethro's cheek. He gave Jethro's arm a squeeze before standing up, bringing Jethro up with him.

"C'mon Sir Lancelot, we have shopping to do! Let's invite Jackson over for dinner?" Tony asked.

"Was planning to." Jethro smirked back at him.

Tony smiled and skipped out the door while Jethro turned off the lights in the foyer and locked up. He was shaking his head with a fond smile on his face as he climbed into the car and they took off for the town.

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TBC….


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.**

**WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed! **

**A/N: Thank you to all Guest reviewers, your kind words are appreciated - Enjoy! ;-)**

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Jackson Gibbs smiled at Emily Rathburn who was finally, _finally_ about to exit his store. She was sweet, and certainly a nice woman, but he was not interested, no matter how hard she tried to woo him. He had lost count of the number of casseroles, cakes, pies and cookies she had plied him with to wear down his defenses. He would not budge though, Jackson Gibbs was a stubborn man, his Leroy came by it honestly.

"Now, Miss Rathburn, I'm sure it'll be a very nice show, but I already told you I can't go. My son and his friend are in town and I intend to spend as much time with them as I can." Jackson told the woman standing by the front door. He also gave silent thanks to whatever deity saw fit to send his boys to him this week, so he had an ironclad excuse. Well, he had another good excuse, but he wasn't saying anything about that until they told his boys.

"As a matter of fact, I'm waiting to hear back from Tom Ramsey's boy David, to see if he can look after the store this week so I can have even more time with them." Jackson told her as he opened the front door and ushered her through it. "Now if I were you, I would scoot on down to the hardware store and ask George Mooney to go with you!" Jackson told her conspiratorially. "Why, old George has been sweet on you ever since your Melvin passed, I'll bet he'd do handstands to accompany you!" Jackson winked and immediately regretted the friendly gesture.

Emily Rathburn swatted his arm and batted her lashes at him while replying, "Oh, nonsense Jackson! George Mooney has no interest in me and as nice as he is, I have no interest in him." Jackson refrained from sighing, but just barely. _Crap, now I've stepped in it. _He thought as Emily continued batting her eyes coquettishly at him.

"Oh, I think you should give George a chance, Miss Rathburn, he might surprise you! You'll have to excuse me now, I've got things to plan with my boys." Jackson nodded his head in goodbye and closed the door of his store with a tinkle of bells as he escaped back inside.

Emily huffed out an exasperated "Humph!" as Jackson disappeared back inside his store. The very _idea_ that she would choose George Mooney over Jackson was absurd! Jackson was tall and handsome with a full head of snow white hair. George was short and round and his hair had been escaping off the back of his skull for decades now, there was only a thin fringe clinging to the back of his head that refused to abandon ship!

Emily took off down the street, not noticing the longing look she was getting from George as he gazed at her through his window as she marched by, sighing to himself. She was nothing, if not resourceful. Children visiting or no, she would not be deterred from her goal: making Jackson Gibbs her own.

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Sarah Colfax, who had seen and heard the entire exchange between Jackson and Emily Rathburn as she stood in the dry goods aisle of Jackson's store, wore a knowing smile on her face. She saw how exasperated Jackson was and she had seen Emily march off with a determined look on her face, she would not be easily swayed.

"You know she won't give up that easy." Sarah remarked as Jackson flew past her, heading for the back room.

"I know, that's why I've got to be quick!" Jackson replied as he passed her.

"Quick about what? Where are you going Jackson Gibbs?" Sarah asked him.

"I've got to line up David Ramsey to watch the store!" He called out as he entered the back room, "If she's gone Sarah, lock the door and turn the sign, I've got to do this quick!" Jackson told her.

Sarah chuckled to herself as she walked over and flipped the 'Open' sign to 'Closed' and locked the front door. She then went back to her shopping with a smile on her face and thinking to herself, _Oh, If Emily only knew!_

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Jackson Gibbs tore into the back room of his store and made a beeline for his office, intent on getting David lined up to mind the store within the next few minutes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the back door opened in front of him, just before he reached the office.

Thinking Emily Rathburn had flanked him, he was preparing to flee back into the store, when his mind registered that it was not her who came in, but his boys.

Heaving a relieved sigh, Jackson said, "Thank God it's you two! Lock the door before she gets any ideas!"

Jethro, who came in behind Tony, quickly stepped in and closed and locked the door behind them, asking, "Who's getting ideas?"

Jethro couldn't see Tony's face, but he saw the annoyed look Jackson sent their way when Tony asked, "Does Emily have the net out again?"

Both men were smirking when Jackson replied, "Yeah, and probably handcuffs too! Sarah's out front, go keep her company while I finish my business." as he rushed past them into his office.

Jethro was shaking his head and Tony was laughing as they moved into the store and both walked over to Sarah, who was finishing up her shopping. Jethro kissed her cheek in greeting and Tony took her basket to help her shop, like the gentleman he was.

"Hey, Miss Sarah! How are you this beautiful day?" Tony asked the petit woman in front of him.

"Oh, I'm just fine young man, and how are you boys today?" She replied, noting their attentiveness to her fondly. They were good boys.

"Pretty good, ma'am! I'm having a lot of fun discovering all the little _and _big surprises the Fielding farm has to offer!" Tony told her animatedly.

Sarah chuckled as she saw the enthusiasm in Jethro's young man. "Oh, Zach really loved his gadgets, didn't he?" she asked him.

"Boy, did he! I've only seen a few rooms upstairs and most of the main floor, but the man sure knew how to live well!" Tony replied.

"Well, I'm sure its still got a few more surprises in store for you." Sarah told him, while patting his arm. "At least, I think it does. It's been a while since I've been inside the house." she finished with a furrowed brow.

She saw Jethro and Tony exchange glances and she thought she saw Jethro incline his head slightly before Tony said, "In that case, would you like to join us for dinner tonight? I'm cooking my famous lasagna and Jethro said he'd do the desert, how about it?" He looked at her eagerly.

Sarah had just opened her mouth to accept their invitation when a loud knocking resounded through the store. All three of them looked to the front door to see their Sheriff, Ed Gantry looking in with a smirk on his face.

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Tony saw Jethro's body stiffen immediately and he reached out to squeeze his shoulder, making Jethro turn to face him as he said, "Just remember what I said - little pond."

Jethro nodded once at him as he visibly calmed himself before striding over to unlock the door and admit their unwanted guest with an unreadable expression on his face. Jethro held the door open for the other man as he swaggered confidently in, locking it again behind him and then stood in front of the door with his arms crossed, effectively trapping the other man in the store, between Jethro and Tony.

Tony had placed Sarah's shopping basket on the counter and had maneuvered himself between her and Ed. In case things went south, he didn't want the older woman to get hurt.

He needn't have worried, Sarah was the first to speak up and she immediately put Ed back on his heels.

She stepped forward in front of Tony and wagged her finger as she snapped at him, " Ed Gantry, don't you _ever_ call my son and suggest I should be in a nursing home! Just who do you think you are?" Her voice had risen and she took a step forward, backing him up to the counter as he stuttered out, "Now Miss Sarah…"

"Don't you Miss Sarah me! I'm Mrs. Colfax to you and you haven't answered my question!" She pinned him with a steely gaze that Ed squirmed under.

"Mrs. Colfax, I was just doing my duty! You're all by yourself way out there on River Bend and just yesterday you called a false report in! We can't be running out there every time you see a branch move, we don't have the time!" Ed defended himself.

Sarah narrowed her eyes and spat out sarcastically, "Yes, I suppose running errands for Chuck Winslow does take up a big part of your day." This statement caused Ed's face to flush red and he stood up a little straighter to argue, "Now, just one minute! I take offense at the insinuation…"

Sarah's eyes glittered dangerously as she pointed at him, backing him up again without ever laying a finger on him as she said, "You know what offends me? It offends me that a spineless jellyfish like Chuck Winslow is able to buy an election and get his very own personal Sheriff!" She lowered her voice as she added, "Now, if you don't want the state police or maybe the Federal government looking into just what you and Winslow get up to, I'd _suggest_ you mind your own business. You seem to have forgotten my son is in the DA's office in Philadelphia and my daughter works for a Senator _and _these two fine young men, who are the ones I saw at the farm yesterday as a matter of fact, are federal agents and would be more than happy to look into you and Chuck."

Ed's face got impossibly redder as he sputtered out, "There was NO one at that farm! I checked it myself!"

Tony and Jethro, who had been watching that sweet little old lady Sarah Colfax eviscerate Ed like a pro, decided now would be a good time to step in.

Tony stepped up next to Sarah and smoothly said, "Afraid you're wrong there Sheriff, we were both at the farm when you drove in, guess you didn't see us." Tony indicated Jethro with a nod of his head and he was happy to note that Jethro now had a smirk on his face as Jethro added, "Yup, you walked right by us Ed, maybe you need to brush up on those observation skills."

Ed Gantry was mad now. He had come in here looking forward to throwing his weight around and intimidating Jethro, just as he had always done. Sarah Colfax had blown that all to Hell, but he wasn't gonna back down on that, there was NO ONE at that farm yesterday!

"Like Hell I do!" He shouted. "There was NO ONE there! I checked the property, there were no cars and no signs of people, I don't believe you were there!" He challenged.

Jethro was breathing through his nose, obviously getting upset, and that pleased Ed, maybe he could provoke him into taking a swing and he could lock him up. He had just opened his mouth to poke him further when the other one spoke up.

"You drove in, did a perimeter check around the house and then you walked over to the barn. Jiggled the door handle and did another perimeter around the barn. You walked back to your car and stood outside the door to call in to dispatch, saying, and I quote _"Marla, the Fielding farm is secure, there's no one here. Tell Sarah the next time she calls to pick up her new glasses at McAllister's!" "_You then threw your hat on the passenger seat, got in and peeled out." Tony finished, with a cold, calculating look on his face. That last little bit about the glasses had the desired effect: Ed was looking at him stunned, realizing they had been there and he had not seen them, and it pissed Sarah off again. Tony smirked at Ed as he stepped back and let Sarah have another go.

"ED GANTRY! How many times do I have to tell you to MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Both Jethro and Tony snickered as Ed jumped at her tone. He was still sizing up the level of threat Tony posed and trying to figure out where they had been at the farm and she had taken him by surprise.

"Mrs. Colfax…" He started out and then another thought occurred to him and he tried to turn it back on Jethro again. "Wait a minute. Where were you two and where was your car? What were you doing, hiding from me?" He astutely deciphered.

Tony was impressed, old Ed was not as dim as he had been led to believe. _Always two sides to every story._ He thought to himself before stepping in again to field the question, he could see Jethro's hand fidgeting and wasn't entirely sure what he would do, so he came to his rescue.

"We were just coming out of the woods when you drove in. Gibbs was showing me the trails and the other barn. We were right there on the edge of the trees, didn't you see us, _Sheriff?_ Because _we_ saw _you_!" Tony interjected just the right amount of disdain into his response that had the other man bristling. Tony could see Ed working up to what would probably be a valid rebuttal (he had purposely left out any mention of their car in his explanation) when Sarah again swooped in, right on cue.

"Ed Gantry, I have had just about enough of your nonsense and your disrespect! You seem to forget that I was a teacher for forty years and _your _teacher, so I'm going to impart one more valuable lesson: If I _ever_ hear of you or that sorry excuse for a human being, Chuck Winslow make _any_ type of derogatory comment about my eyesight or my state of mind, I will _OWN_ the Winslow mine and every last penny either of you have ever made! I never took your guff when you two were rampaging around town as kids, and I'm sure not going to start now! _Do you understand me?" _She asked him in a tone that every kid recognized: She was in full-on, teacher/authority figure mode, and that tone brooked no argument.

Ed's face had blanched a little at her words, but it flushed again when he realized how much Jethro and Tony were enjoying his dressing down. He might have been able to push Jethro into doing something stupid, he always knew what buttons to push with him, but that other one - he was a cool customer. Plus, he had a look in his eye like a viper about ready to strike. He knew instinctively that he wouldn't win going up against that one. He knew Chuck wouldn't have a chance either. Chuck was sneaky, but Ed had a feeling this one was deadly. Since he was outnumbered and outgunned he decided on a course of action that had always served him well: saving his own ass!

He mumbled a "Yes, ma'am." before edging around her and making his escape through the front door that Jethro was holding open for him, smirk firmly in place. Even though that pissed him off, he knew when he couldn't win. He knew Chuck's 'business' was not entirely above-board and would not hold up to the serious scrutiny that a federal investigation could bring to bear. He hopped in his patrol car and sped off down Main street, heading for his home. He sighed deeply as he got further away from the store and calmed down a little more. He thought maybe it was time to retire.

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Jethro closed and again locked the door and all three of them watched Ed scramble to his car and make a strategic retreat. Jethro, Tony and Sarah all looked at each other in silence and then all three jumped when the sound of Jackson's laughter rang out through the quiet store. He had obviously heard some, if not all, of the confrontation and it sounded like he approved.

Soon all four of them were wiping tears of laughter out of their eyes as the tension and adrenalin dissipated. Jackson had walked over to sling an arm over Jethro's shoulder as their laughter died down and Tony enveloped Sarah in a strong embrace and kissed her cheek as he commented, "I don't _ever_ want to get on your wrong side, Miss Sarah!"

She just laughed and patted his back while replying, "I doubt you ever could, young man!" Earning a blinding smile from Tony as he pulled back and held her at arms length. "So, you never said, are you coming for dinner?" he asked her.

"Would not miss it, Tony!" she replied with a fond smile.

Tony looked over at Jackson as he added, "You too Jackson, are you coming?"

"I'll be there. In fact, as soon as David gets here, I'll come over and help you cook!" Jackson replied. "Then you can tell me how you like the house."

"Oh my God! That house is amazing!" Tony enthused as the others chuckled. "That master bedroom and closet and bathroom and the upstairs laundry room. Oh! And that library and the kitchen and I can't believe there's an elevator in it!" Tony stopped rambling on about the house when Jethro walked over and wrapped his arms around him from behind. Tony stilled instantly and melted back into Jethro's arms and both Jackson and Sarah smiled at the level of contentment the two men had.

They watched, entranced, as Jethro whispered something in Tony's ear that caused a sweet smile on the younger man's face. Jethro closed his eyes and kissed Tony on the cheek tenderly as Tony turned around in his arms and spoke softly to Jethro. Too softly for their older companions to hear, but it brought a huge smile to Jethro's face. Tony then leaned in and gently brushed his lips across Jethro's before pulling away to gather the groceries they needed for the house. Jethro watched his progress intently, his eyes following Tony around the store. Both Sarah and Jackson were deeply moved at the strong love that emanated from their boys. If Jethro had not been watching Tony, he would have seen his father and Sarah exchange watery smiles as Jackson squeezed Sarah's hand.

Jackson was elated that his boys had found each other again and they were both so happy. He was actually pretty happy himself, he thought, as he rang up Sarah's order. He didn't think he would ever find such happiness again, after Leroy's mother passed, but he wasn't gonna say no to it either. Sarah was such a lady, but boy, look out when she's riled up! Something he didn't think Ed Gantry would forget ever again.

Jackson had heard the pounding on the front door as he finished his call to David and he had snuck back out front without any of them seeing him. Everyone thought Leroy had learned his stealth from the Marines, but it was born right here. The Marines may have honed it a bit, but he had learned a lot by watching his father. People were always surprised Jackson could move so quietly, came in handy for finding out things other people didn't want known. He knew most of the town's secrets and could make a good guess on the rest. If Sarah hadn't flayed Ed so effectively, he would have stepped in to remind him about the illegal gambling Ed's son ran with Winslow. Turned quite a profit last month. He was sure the IRS would be very interested to hear all about that.

He was smiling to himself at the thought of siccing the IRS on the ones that used to make his boy's life miserable growing up when Sarah's voice broke into his plans for revenge.

"I don't know what you're planning, Jackson Gibbs, but you can just forget it!" Sarah told him firmly. "Ed won't do anything and he'll warn Chuck off. Both of them know I mean business and I don't say anything I don't mean!"

"Okay sweetie, I'll behave." Jackson smiled sheepishly at her stern look. He had gotten a little carried away.

Sarah nodded her head as she said, "Okay, then," They both ended up staring at each other with goofy smiles on their faces for, who knew how long, until they heard a throat being cleared near the end of the counter.

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Sarah and Jackson both turned to see Tony and Jethro standing at the other end of the counter, next to their groceries piled up next to them, with twin smiles of amusement as they regarded them.

"Something you want to tell us, Dad?" Jethro asked him, with an impish grin.

"Well, we…that is, Sarah and I…" Jackson's voice trailed off as he searched for the right words to describe what Sarah meant to him. The entire time he was stumbling over his speech, Leroy and Tony were sporting knowing smirks. Dang it! Those boys were too smart for their own good!

Sarah, as always, came to his rescue.

"Oh, I think you can figure out what we mean to each other, you boys shouldn't tease your father like that!" She lightly scolded them, wearing her own knowing smile.

Tony moved forward and again, enveloped Sarah in a hug as Jethro stepped around the counter and grabbed Jackson in a hug too. Jethro whispered in his father's ear, "I'm happy for you, dad." Before giving him another tight squeeze just before releasing him.

Tony was beaming at Sarah and told her as he kissed her cheek, "You two are perfect for each other! I'm so glad you both found happiness together!" He moved back slightly and sent an approving look at Jackson before he added, "You sure you can keep up, Jack? I think after witnessing that little episode with the Sheriff that you better stay on your toes with this one!"

Tony and Jethro erupted in laughter and Jackson blushed red as Sarah smacked Tony on the arm playfully and said, "Don't you worry, Jackson has no trouble keeping up with me!"

"Alright, alright, let's get finished up here before David comes in. I want to make a quick getaway in case Emily decides to mount another attack!" Jackson grumbled, good-naturedly, as he finished ringing up Sarah's order. After giving her the obligatory twenty percent family discount, he started bagging her purchases with Leroy's help. When they were finished, both of the boys carried everything out to her car and advised her to come over to the house as soon as she wanted.

Jethro told Tony that he was heading down to the hardware store to pick up brackets to mount the TV's and a few other things for the house. After a quick squeeze to Tony's shoulder, Jethro walked off down the sidewalk and Tony went back inside the store. Jackson was finished ringing up their order, including discount, and after paying, Tony helped pack up everything and he lugged it all to their car sitting in the alley behind the store.

"Why don't you pack a bag and stay with us out at the farm for a few days?" Tony asked him. "I know how persistent Emily is, maybe it would be better if you took off for a little while." He offered as he leaned back on the counter.

"Well, I was going to pack a bag, but I'm going to see if Sarah will let me use her guest room. Even though it's a big house, you boys need your privacy."

Jackson informed Tony, as he wiped down the counter, not looking up at the younger man.

Tony smiled at the show of Jackson's uncharacteristic nervousness and decided not to make the other man even more uncomfortable, so he just said, "That sounds like a good plan, much harder for Emily to find you."

Jackson looked up at Tony, wearing a grateful smile. He realized Tony had let him off the hook and he really appreciated it. He was so happy Leroy had this smart, funny man in his life and watching out for him. They really looked after each other.

"You know, I saw you jump in when Ed was here and was trying to get at Leroy. I wanted you to know I was real proud of you for doing that. Ed always knows what to say to provoke Leroy, it might have turned out bad if you hadn't done what you did." Jackson thanked Tony.

Tony sighed deeply before replying, "Yeah, I could tell Jethro was about to blow, plus I really didn't like the son of a bitch and it was fun poking him."

Both men laughed at that and when it was quiet again, Tony said to Jackson, "I've heard a lot of stories about Ed, but I always got the impression from those stories that he was maybe not too bright, more of a follower. The guy I met today doesn't fit into that box. He's pretty sharp and if your intended hadn't distracted him by chewing off his ass, he would have figured out a few things."

Jackson smiled shrewdly at Tony before replying, "Oh, Ed's no dummy, but the main goal in his life is to save his own rear end and to work as little as possible, which he's very good at, been doing it a long time. Ed has always stuck by Chuck Winslow because he recognized a free ride when he saw it."

Tony nodded in understanding as Jackson continued. "Ed always got a lot of mileage out of being the best friend to the richest guy in town. In fact, Chuck didn't have any friends until Ed saw an opportunity and took it. Chuck was always a snotty little bastard and the other kids never put up with him until Ed stepped up."

Tony asked, "Is Chuck as smart as Ed, or does Ed do his thinking for him?"

Jackson leaned back on the stool he was sitting on to consider his response before he finally said, "Hmm, well Chuck is no Einstein, but he's sure not stupid. I would say he's probably of average intelligence, but above average at sneaky. He's real good at figuring out a way around something, and that way around is usually blackmail."

Tony's attention sharpened when he heard that and he asked, "Is that how he keeps Ed in line? Do you know what he has on him?"

"It's more of a mutual destruction deal with Ed. They both know where the other's skeletons are hiding and agree to keep quiet, for their own good. Although, Chuck upped the stakes this last year." Jackson stated. He continued after Tony gave him an inquisitive look.

"Ed's oldest boy, Damon, is running an illegal gambling den with Chuck. I'm not sure if Ed is aware of that or not. I'm sure Chuck will let him know when the need arises" Jackson told him.

"Well, that's very interesting. Do you know where the place is?" Tony asked him.

"They move around, but there's only four places they use, one of them being Damon's own barn." Jackson informed Tony.

"Is Damon looking for the easy ride his father took, or is he more ambitious?" Tony asked.

"Ambition is not a word I'd use to describe Damon. Actually, he and Chuck are a lot alike. He always did the bare minimum in school and skated by getting others to do his work." Jackson explained, distaste plainly shown on his face. "When I say _getting_ others to do his work, I mean threatening them. Many times Sarah caught him terrorizing a younger, smarter kid and I once heard him threaten Jackie Taylor at the Bakery, trying to get free goods from her."

Tony's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Threatened her how? Bodily harm?"

"No, the lazy little idiot never goes that far, he threatened to have his _Uncle Chuck_ have a talk with the bank and have her loan pulled." Jackson informed him with a frown.

"What a devious little shit! Has he ever threatened you?" Tony asked him hotly.

Jackson chuckled as he responded, "Hell no! I've never heard a peep from him or Ed or Chuck. People like that seem to have a sixth sense to know who they can push around. Must never have felt that way about me."

Tony smiled wryly as he said, "I don't imagine they did. You never struck me as a pushover Jackson! You said you heard him threaten Jackie Taylor, were you outside or right there in the shop?" Tony asked him.

"I came in the shop behind him, he didn't even hear me. He was only about fourteen at the time and I scared the crap out of him. He never tried that again with _any_ business here in town." Jackson recalled with a smile.

Tony and Jackson were still laughing about that when a young man, about nineteen entered the store. He was almost as tall as Tony with sandy colored hair and brown eyes. Tony noted that an easy smile broke out on his face when he heard their laughter and he was still smiling as he walked up to Tony with his hand out to shake as he introduced himself.

"Sounds like somebody is having a good time in here! You must be Tony, my name's David Ramsey sir, good to meet you!" He said as he shook Tony's hand. "I recognized you from the pictures in Jackson's office, is Leroy doing okay?" He asked and seemed genuinely concerned about the answer.

Tony liked the young man immediately. He was easy-going and friendly, his personality seemed to be a lot like Jackson's. Tony studied him as he made his introduction and did not detect any type of deception in him. He knew Jackson trusted the boy, but his inner cop was still glad to check him out in person. He had already done a background and criminal check on him months ago when Jackson had told him about his new hire. You can't be too careful, when it comes to family.

"Tony DiNozzo, good to meet you too. Jackson's told me many good things about you and as for Leroy, you can ask him yourself." Tony smiled and pointed behind David to where Jethro had stealthily entered the store and now stood near the door watching the interaction.

David spun around and walked over to Jethro with his hand out and the smile still on his face as he said, "It's good to see you so well, Mr. Gibbs! We were all worried when we heard about your accident." Tony noted a small wince from Jethro when David mentioned the explosion, but he covered it well. "I'm David Ramsey, Mr. Gibbs. Your father hired me some months ago to help out with the store, it sure is good to finally meet you."

Tony was amused to see a pleasant smile on Jethro's face as he shook David's hand and replied, "Thank you David, good to meet you too. So, you're the one putting up with my father's crap on a weekly basis."

Jackson let out an annoyed snort as he said, "You watch yourself, Leroy! You're not too old to take over my knee!"

Jethro's smile morphed into a smirk as he playfully replied, "You'd have to catch me first."

Causing Tony and David to bust out laughing and Tony commented, "I'd be careful Jethro, I don't think I'd test him!"

"You best listen to this young man, Leroy. You never got away before, you're not starting now!" Jackson advised his son with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, sir!" Jethro replied as he moved to stand close to Tony. "Are you all set to go? I put everything I got at the hardware store in the car already. Do you have anything else to carry out?"

"I'm done, we better go so I can start dinner and Jackson can escape before Emily comes back!" Tony replied.

"Oh Lord, is Emily hunting again?" David asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Boy, is she!" Jackson replied with a shudder. "Now I know what a mouse feels like being hunted by a hawk!"

All three men laughed at Jackson's discomfort before David asked, "Did you steer her in George Mooney's direction? I know he would sure love to spend some time with her."

"I did, she was _not_ happy with the suggestion. Maybe you could nudge her along that way when she comes looking for me?" Jackson asked, hopefully.

David chuckled and replied, "That I can do, but she won't give up as long as you're unattached."

"Well, then you can mention to her that I _am_ attached! Sarah and I told the boys here, so now it's official - I am off the market!" Jackson told David proudly while Tony and Jethro smiled at him.

"Well that's great news, sir! I'd be happy to tell her, is it okay to say who you are off the market with?" David asked.

"We're not hiding, tell anyone you want! We just wanted these two to be the first to hear the news." Jackson told him as he winked at Tony and Jethro and smiled fondly at his boys.

"So, you've got your keys. I'll probably stop in on Saturday to run the deposit up to the bank. If you need me, call my cell. I'm not going to be home, but I won't be far away. I'm going to skedaddle while I can! Thanks for your help David." Jackson informed the younger man as he came from behind the counter and shook David's hand.

"No problem sir, anytime! Have a nice visit." David told him and then addressed his last comment to all three men.

Tony and Jethro smiled back at him as they followed Jackson out the back, to their cars. After agreeing that Jackson should come over as soon as he was packed, they all got in their cars and went their separate ways.

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Jethro was driving back to the farm at a rather sedate pace when he glanced over at a surprisingly silent Tony, gazing out the side window.

"So, you did a background check on the kid?" Jethro asked him, already knowing the answer.

"You know I did. No issues, not even a parking ticket, he's a good guy, reminds me a lot of Jackson. They have the same personality." Tony told him.

"Nah, I wouldn't have gotten along with him so easily." Jethro deadpanned.

Tony barked out a laugh and squeezed the hand Jethro had taken his own into as he drove. "You're not as surly as you'd like everyone to believe." He said as he placed a tender kiss on the back of Jethro hand. "You know I like this new, more easygoing you. Much easier to cuddle." Tony remarked as he slid over on the front seat and lay his head on Jethro's shoulder.

"We used to cuddle all the time!" Jethro retorted, although he was secretly thrilled with Tony's closeness and that Tony liked his new outlook. He used to only let himself relax when he and Tony were alone, but being a bastard to everyone was exhausting and he didn't want to do it anymore. He was a different person now, and he was looking forward to life again as he had not done in many years.

"Yeah, but I usually had to trick you into it if anyone was around. Since you came back you don't seem to care who sees us together." Tony told him.

"I don't, I'm not ashamed of you or us, Tony. I'll take out a billboard on Times Square telling the world about us if you want me to. It took an explosion to knock some sense into me, and I'm not gonna waste it." Jethro told him sincerely.

Tony chuckled and raised his head to kiss Jethro's cheek, telling him, "I don't think you need to go that far, but it's sweet that you are willing to. I'm happy with the way things are."

They drove a few minutes in comfortable silence before Jethro cleared his throat and said, "I wanted to thank you for running interference with Ed back there. He could always get to me and I was right on the edge of doing something stupid."

Tony caressed Jethro's right hand between his two as he said, "I could tell. Ed's a typical bully, but I will never let him hurt you again!" Tony told him forcefully. "Besides, that's what partners do - we slay each others dragons. That's why we're so good together."

Jethro felt a warmth enveloping him as Tony's words sunk in. It was true. He would move Heaven and Earth to protect Tony and he knew Tony would do the same. They did fit so well together.

"I think you did more than slay that dragon, you didn't see Ed's face as he went out the door. You scared the hell out of him! He has no doubt that he should never mess with you. Made my day." Jethro smiled happily at the memory as he turned off River Bend Rd into their driveway.

Tony sat up and turned to Jethro as Jethro pulled the car up to the kitchen door in the back of the house and shut off the motor. "Good! Just as long as he knows he should never mess with you either. He will be _very_ sorry if he does!"

The love Jethro felt for the man next to him was all encompassing. He was _so_ lucky to have him on his side. He leaned forward to capture Tony's lips in an affectionate kiss that illustrated his feelings. They would have guests soon, so they couldn't take it further, but he needed just a little intimacy from Tony until they were shut behind closed bedroom doors tonight.

Both men wore satisfied expressions as they emptied the car and went inside to prepare for dinner with their family.

************NCIS********************NCIS********************

TBC….


End file.
